Do You Need a Permit to Clear Land in Brevard County?

Usually, yes. Outside city limits, the county code requires a permit “prior to any land clearing activities” unless an exemption applies. Palm Bay, Melbourne, West Melbourne, Titusville and Cocoa each set their own rules. State rules on wetlands and gopher tortoises apply everywhere, and so does the state’s burn rule.

The county code counts “the removal or cutting down of vegetation, including trees, root-raking” as land clearing. Mowing that keeps vegetation healthy does not count. Sorting out permits is the first step of a site preparation plan. We walk you through which permits apply to your lot.

Which office handles your lot?

Dbh means trunk diameter at breast height, 4.5 feet up.

What does unincorporated Brevard County ask for?

The county’s Natural Resources Management Department reviews land clearing outside city limits. Protected trees start at 10 inches dbh for hardwoods and 14 inches for pines and other softwoods. On the barrier island, both drop to 1.5 inches. Large trees in good condition at 24 inches dbh or more are specimen trees.

The application asks for a boundary survey showing where and how much you will clear. It also wants a tree survey by a Florida registered land surveyor and wetland lines drawn under state rules. For a new home, these details go in the building permit application. A single-family lot permit expires after 90 days and must be posted in view of the road.

Bona fide farm use on land classified as agricultural is exempt. Removing nonnative invasive plants is exempt too, with tighter conditions in wetlands and shoreline buffers. A small scale land clearing permit allows up to 50 percent of the understory or one acre, whichever is less. One is approved per property each calendar year, and never for specimen trees. Each quarter acre cleared in violation counts as a separate violation.

What do Palm Bay, Melbourne and West Melbourne require?

Palm Bay. The city requires a permit to remove any tree of 6 inches dbh or more. On residential lots under one acre, “any land clearing activities” need that permit too. A home lot cleared for a build needs its building permit under review first. The application asks for the recorded deed and a sketch of every tree’s dbh and species. Underbrush over a quarter acre takes a grubbing permit, except on home sites under an acre. The code lists “mulching in place” as grubbing.

Melbourne. No tree may come out “without first obtaining a permit” unless exempt. The engineering department issues it as a land alteration permit. “Speculative clearing is not permitted,” so a building permit or engineering plan approval comes first. Lots with an existing one-, two- or three-family home are exempt, as are invasives such as Brazilian pepper. The application lists each tree of 4 inches dbh or more.

West Melbourne. A tree removal permit covers protected trees on the city’s planting list, at 4 inches caliper or more. Vacant sites attach a tree survey. A lot actively used as a single-family home needs no tree permit, and listed invasives are exempt.

What do Titusville and Cocoa require?

Titusville. The city’s rules say no “clearing, grubbing, grading or excavation” may begin without a permit. Removing a tree needs one too, unless state or federal rules preempt it. The owner of an existing single-family home needs no tree removal permit. A home counts as existing one year after its certificate of occupancy. A tree survey comes before a clearing and grubbing permit. Category I invasive trees on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council list need no permit.

Cocoa. The city requires a land clearing permit before anyone clears vacant or undeveloped property. Single-family and duplex lots fall outside these rules. Understory removal “by bush hog, forestry mulcher, or other means” is not routine mowing there. The Planning and Zoning Division takes a notarized application with the recorded deed and the site plan number. Permits not tied to a site plan or plat last 90 days.

When does the water management district step in?

All of Brevard County lies inside the St. Johns River Water Management District. State rule 62-330.020 requires a permit for any project in, on or over wetlands or other surface waters. A total project area of more than five acres is another trigger. One single-family home is exempt when no work touches wetlands or surface waters and other limits are met. Some projects fall to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection instead, the district notes. A formal wetland determination is the district’s most reliable check and sets legal boundaries for five years.

What about gopher tortoises?

Gopher tortoises are state-listed as Threatened. Before “disturbing burrows and conducting construction activities,” the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) requires a relocation permit. A disturbance includes “any type of work within 25 feet of a gopher tortoise burrow,” the agency says. If all clearing and grading stays 25 feet away, you may not need a permit.

The 10 or Fewer Burrows Relocation permit fits projects moving five or fewer tortoises, usually a single home. A permitted authorized agent must move tortoises off the property. If construction does not start within 90 days of the last full survey, FWC requires a new one. Clearing first can bring a disturbed site permit, and work stops until the tortoises are moved.

Can you burn the cleared debris?

The Florida Forest Service lists land clearing and pile burning among burns that need its authorization. Under the state rule, a residential pile must sit 300 feet from occupied buildings other than the landowner’s. It also needs 50 feet from wildlands, brush or combustible structures and 100 feet from paved public roads. Someone must attend the fire at all times, on the site the debris came from. Every affected party can agree in writing to waive the setbacks.

Otherwise the debris gets hauled. Brevard County’s code sends land clearing debris to county solid waste facilities or another permitted facility. Our debris removal hauls cleared trees and root balls off the lot.

What order should you do things in?

1. Confirm whether the lot is in a city or in unincorporated Brevard County.
2. Check for wetlands before you set the clearing limits.
3. Look for gopher tortoise burrows. Stay 25 feet away or get the FWC permit first.
4. Get the tree survey and apply. In Palm Bay and Melbourne, clearing for a build waits on the building permit.
5. Notify Sunshine 811 at least two full business days before digging or pulling stumps.
6. Post the permit where required, and line up hauling or a burn authorization before clearing.

Where does a site preparation plan fit in?

Permit questions belong in the plan, before any machine runs. On a site preparation job, we look at the lot and mark what stays and what goes. We walk you through which permits apply and what the county or city asks for. Then land clearing in Melbourne and across Brevard follows the plan, and any stumps that have to go come out as part of clearing the lot.