For three fee-bearing trees on a single-family application, Winter Springs’ listed filing charge works out to $45. That is not a removal quote or a replacement-tree budget. A separate diameter table determines replacement options, and its dollar amounts cannot all be calculated by multiplying a count by $300.
The $45 calculation covers the application only
The City arbor page lists $25 for the first single-family tree and $10 for each additional tree. LSL reproduces the three-tree example as $25 + (2 × $10) = $45. The illustration assumes all three trees incur that fee; it does not classify a mixed application or establish that a permit is required.
The page lists different starting charges for association and commercial applications, no fee for dead/diseased removal, and a repeat fee for reinspection. None of those conditional amounts is silently added to the $45 example. Nor does it include labor, equipment, hauling, stump work or purchased replacement trees.
Look up the replacement row; do not invent a conversion rate
Code section 5-9, Table 1 lists replacement canopy-tree counts and tree-bank amounts separately. These are selected illustrations for ordinary, non-specimen trees—not determinations about an actual tree:
| Example diameter at breast height | Listed replacement canopy trees | Listed tree-bank amount |
|---|---|---|
| 10 inches | 2 | $600 |
| 17 inches | 4 | $1,200 |
| 28 inches, non-specimen | 6 | $1,500 |
The first two rows happen to work at $300 per tree. The third does not: 6 × $300 = $1,800, which is $300 above the listed $1,500. LSL’s former blanket multiplier was wrong; the two smaller examples remain valid table lookups.
The code also describes other replacement options and a separate preserved-tree credit system. Credits earned by retaining existing trees in development are not interchangeable with required replacement counts. Banking depends on the City’s applicable decision; a published dollar amount does not let an applicant choose payment instead of planting unilaterally.
Use the City’s arbor forms directory, which separates ordinary and specimen/historic applications. The 28-inch illustration avoids the source wording at exactly 24 inches and does not decide whether a tree qualifies as a specimen.
First establish whether these City charges apply
Florida Statutes section 163.045 limits local permitting, fees and mitigation for qualifying detached single-family residential property when the owner possesses the required signed onsite assessment from an ISA-certified arborist or Florida-licensed landscape architect. The statutory risk test requires removal to be the only practical way to reduce risk below moderate. Qualifying removal also cannot trigger a local replanting requirement. The section excludes specifically delegated mangrove-protection authority.
A photograph or an owner’s description of a dangerous tree does not establish those statutory conditions. This article has not evaluated a property or professional assessment. Its fee examples are conditional, not a claim that every removal must receive City approval.
LSL checked the City page, full replacement-code section, form routes and current state statute on September 12, 2026. The original work here is the reproduced arithmetic and comparison of non-equivalent charges—not a contractor-price survey. Before accepting a combined estimate, ask it to distinguish application charges, the approved replacement or banking obligation, and the contractor’s own work price.