Florida Senate - 2022                              CS for SB 518
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senator Brodeur
       
       
       
       
       
       578-02092-22                                           2022518c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to private property rights to prune,
    3         trim, and remove trees; amending s. 163.045, F.S.;
    4         defining terms; revising conditions under which a
    5         local government may not require a notice,
    6         application, approval, permit, fee, or mitigation for
    7         the pruning, trimming, or removal of a tree on
    8         residential property; specifying when a tree poses an
    9         unacceptable risk; providing an effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Section 163.045, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   14  read:
   15         163.045 Tree pruning, trimming, or removal on residential
   16  property.—
   17         (1) For purposes of this section, the term:
   18         (a) “Documentation” means an onsite assessment performed in
   19  accordance with the tree risk assessment procedures outlined in
   20  Best Management Practices - Tree Risk Assessment, Second Edition
   21  (2017) by an arborist certified by the International Society of
   22  Arboriculture (ISA) or a Florida licensed landscape architect
   23  and signed by the certified arborist or licensed landscape
   24  architect.
   25         (b) “Residential property” means a single-family, detached
   26  building located on a lot that is actively used for single
   27  family residential purposes and that is either a conforming use
   28  or a legally recognized nonconforming use in accordance with the
   29  local jurisdiction’s applicable land development regulations.
   30         (2) A local government may not require a notice,
   31  application, approval, permit, fee, or mitigation for the
   32  pruning, trimming, or removal of a tree on a residential
   33  property if the property owner possesses obtains documentation
   34  from an arborist certified by the ISA International Society of
   35  Arboriculture or a Florida licensed landscape architect that the
   36  tree poses an unacceptable risk presents a danger to persons or
   37  property. A tree poses an unacceptable risk if removal is the
   38  only means of practically mitigating its risk below moderate, as
   39  determined by the tree risk assessment procedures outlined in
   40  Best Management Practices - Tree Risk Assessment, Second Edition
   41  (2017).
   42         (3)(2) A local government may not require a property owner
   43  to replant a tree that was pruned, trimmed, or removed in
   44  accordance with this section.
   45         (4)(3) This section does not apply to the exercise of
   46  specifically delegated authority for mangrove protection
   47  pursuant to ss. 403.9321-403.9333.
   48         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.