A homeowner in Pensacola, Florida, who wants a 43-inch live oak gone could soon face a bill of $6,000 before the stump is ground. That figure comes from an example the Pensacola News Journal laid out this week as the City Council prepares for its first vote on a rewrite of the city’s tree protection rules.
The vote is scheduled for the council’s regular meeting on Nov. 12, which starts at 5:30 p.m. The proposal is still only that. Nothing changes for residents unless the council approves it, and a first reading is not final adoption.
What the live oak category would charge
The biggest change is a new class just for live oaks measuring 40 inches or more in diameter. According to the News Journal’s reporting, the application fee to remove one of those trees would jump from $75 to $1,000. A separate mature canopy fee of $1,500 would apply, along with a mitigation fee of $500 for every inch of trunk diameter.
Private homeowners would not pay the full amount. The proposal keeps a cap for qualifying residences, but it raises that cap for live oaks from $1,500 to $5,000. Add the $1,000 application fee, and one 43-inch live oak on a qualifying home lot comes to $6,000, the paper calculated…