Highland City is a small community south of Lakeland that is generally treated as part of unincorporated Polk County rather than a city of its own. We are an independent service. Call, describe the tree, and we connect you with an independent local tree company that serves Highland City. The company sets its own price and does the work.
If your property is in unincorporated Polk County, Polk County's land development rules apply, not a city code. In our research, the county's tree provisions attach to development plans, including landscaping and credit for preserved trees, and we did not find a county permit for ordinary residential tree removal. We could not confirm that from the county's own text, so ask Polk County before a large removal or clearing project. Wetlands, shoreline buffers and conservation easements can add separate requirements. If your parcel is actually inside Lakeland city limits, the city's rules apply instead; see the permit guide.
Florida Statute 163.045 also applies to a single-family detached lot: a local government may not require a permit, fee or replacement for removing a tree when the owner holds an on-site risk assessment from an ISA-certified arborist or Florida licensed landscape architect showing an unacceptable risk.
Sandy ridge land in this part of Polk County supports scrub habitat, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says gopher tortoises are state-listed as Threatened and that they and their burrows are protected by state law. FWC says a relocation permit is required before disturbing burrows, and that disturbance includes work within 25 feet of a burrow. FWC also says most residential lawn and landscape maintenance does not need a permit if it does not collapse burrows or harm tortoises. If you see a burrow near a tree or a lot you plan to clear, mention it when you describe the job, and see the FWC page on gopher tortoise permits.
Where a property is a larger lot with a long driveway and mature oaks or pines, access, gates and debris handling matter. University of Florida hurricane research found larger trees lost more branches, and recommends having tree health evaluated and removing hazard trees, with regular structural pruning of broadleaf trees. It also found sand live oak and live oak among the better performers and sand pine and southern redcedar among the poorer ones. Ask for your trees to be assessed by an ISA-certified arborist if you have an older pine or a large oak with dead wood.
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Call (863) 267-9528 or use the contact page. We connect you with an independent local provider; the provider does the work and sets its price.
Tree Removal Lakeland is an independent service that connects callers with local tree care providers; we are not a tree contractor. Disclosure