Land Clearing Permits in Palm Coast and Flagler County
Land clearing permits in Palm Coast and Flagler County depend on what you're doing and where. This guide is organized by job: clearing a city lot for a house, clearing without building, taking out a yard tree, brush near a home, the swale, county land, Bunnell and Flagler Beach, tortoises, wet ground, flood zones, burning, digging and septic. Each entry gives the rule and its threshold, the office that decides, its phone number and the official source, all checked October 2026.
First: inside Palm Coast or not?
Palm Coast, Bunnell, Flagler Beach and Beverly Beach are separate municipalities with their own land rules; the rest of Flagler County is unincorporated and follows the county's. If you're not sure which side of a city line your parcel is on, ask the City of Palm Coast at (386) 986-2360 or Flagler County at (386) 313-4000 before you plan around one set of rules.
Clearing a Palm Coast lot for a new house
Rule: clearing trees, filling, excavating or dredging a parcel is prohibited before a single-family building permit or site development permit is issued, unless the code provides otherwise or the Land Use Administrator authorizes it. The building permit acts as the tree removal permit. The permit package needs a tree survey no more than 24 months old naming each protected tree by species, a sealed topographic survey on the 1988 NAVD datum with a lot grading plan, a driveway detail matching the city's culvert drawing, and a water and sewer receipt from the utility.
Decides: City of Palm Coast Building Division, (386) 986-3780. Source: ULDC Chapter 11, §11.02.05.D and the building permit checklist. Checked October 2026. More in lot clearing.
Clearing a vacant Palm Coast lot without building
Rule: allowed only in listed cases: partial clearing for a seawall; partial clearing to remove unsuitable debris or muck from the buildable area, with written proof from a testing agency; or clearing pines, brush and trees under 6 inches from a vacant single-family lot owned together with the developed lot next to it, keeping the minimum of one tree per 2,500 square feet. These go through the Lot Clearing permit, with a right-of-way application, topographic survey, grading plan, and a notice of commencement for work of $2,500 or more. Zoning, Stormwater and Urban Forestry review it.
Decides: Building Division, (386) 986-3780; Zoning Division, (386) 986-3751. Source: ULDC §11.02.05.D.1 and checklist, as above. Checked October 2026.
Taking a tree out of a Palm Coast yard
Rule: a permit is needed to cut down, remove, damage or destroy by pruning any tree with a trunk of 6 inches or more at four and a half feet, or 4 inches or more if surveyed for credit. Specimen trees start at 24 inches (18 or 12 inches for listed species) and historic trees at 36 inches. Removing a specimen tree from a developed lot means planting one shade tree; a historic tree, two trees including a shade tree. Invasive species on the state noxious weed list are exempt.
Decides: Building Division, (386) 986-3780; Urban Forestry inspections, (386) 986-3758. Source: city help center and single-family landscape summary. Checked October 2026. More in Palm Coast tree permits.
Brush close to a Palm Coast home
Rule: under Palm Coast Code Chapter 25, Article IV, brush on an undeveloped lot that averages over three feet tall is a fire hazard when it's within 30 feet of an existing residence.
Decides: Code Enforcement, (386) 986-3764. Source: city code violation summary. Checked October 2026. More in palmetto and underbrush.
The swale, driveway and city right-of-way
Rule: lot clearing and re-grading permits include a right-of-way application, and the final survey has to show the swale meets grade. Driveways follow the city's residential culvert detail. Clearing city right-of-way next to your property needs a Right of Way Beautification permit: hand work only, no heavy equipment, set back 10 feet from the side property lines, with disturbed ground stabilized right away.
Decides: Construction Management and Engineering, (386) 986-3794. Source: building permit checklist. Checked October 2026.
Clearing in unincorporated Flagler County
Rule: for a new home, the county's tree protection form protects trees of 6 inches and up (specimen at 18, historic at 36), requires a tree survey under 24 months old by a Florida licensed land surveyor, and requires preserving or replanting at least 50 percent of the pre-development trunk inches with replacements of at least 2½-inch caliper. One tree per 2,500 square feet is required. A driveway onto a county road needs a right-of-way permit with a sealed site plan and a 40-foot concrete or HDPE culvert.
Decides: Flagler County Growth Management, 1769 East Moody Blvd, Bunnell, (386) 313-4000. Source: single-family permit packet (tree form effective September 18, 2024). Checked October 2026. More in acreage clearing.
Inside Bunnell or Flagler Beach
Rule: each city applies its own land development code. Ask about tree removal and clearing before work starts.
Decides: City of Bunnell Community Development, 2400 Commerce Parkway, (386) 437-7516 (Building Division page). City of Flagler Beach Planning and Building, (386) 517-2000, extension 230 for planning or 232 for building permits (city FAQ). Checked October 2026.
Gopher tortoise burrows
Rule: any work within 25 feet of a gopher tortoise burrow is a disturbance; a permit is required when a potentially occupied burrow will be disturbed, and none is needed if all burrows are avoided by 25 feet in every direction. Sites with 10 or fewer burrows can use the 10 or Fewer Burrows permit; tortoises are handled only by someone who has completed FWC e-Learning or holds an Authorized Agent permit.
Decides: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, (850) 488-4676. Source: FWC gopher tortoise permits. Checked October 2026. More in gopher tortoises on a lot.
Wet ground, ditches and drainage
Rule: the St. Johns River Water Management District handles Environmental Resource Permit questions, and Palm Coast's checklist notes that the district encourages owners to contact it before any clearing. A pre-application conference with a district engineer or environmental specialist can settle whether an area needs a permit. In the county, the drainage affidavit bars erosion of fill or disturbed soil onto neighboring land or sensitive areas.
Decides: St. Johns River Water Management District, Palatka, (386) 329-4500 or (800) 451-7106; permitting customer service (386) 329-4570. Source: district permitting page and contacts. Checked October 2026.
Flood zones
Rule: in the unincorporated county, a FEMA Elevation Certificate is required if the parcel is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, and the site plan shows the flood zone. In Palm Coast, the sealed topographic survey and grading plan follow the city's stormwater requirements.
Decides: Flagler County Growth Management, (386) 313-4000; City of Palm Coast Building Division, (386) 986-3780. Source: county permit packet and city checklist, as above. Checked October 2026.
Burning the debris
Rule: pile burning of land-clearing debris needs Florida Forest Service authorization before the burn starts. State air rules require the burn to be on the site the debris came from, lit after 9 a.m. Eastern, with no visible flame from an hour before sunset, attended, with extinguishing equipment at hand. Flagler County burn bans stop open burning while they're in effect.
Decides: Florida Forest Service, Bunnell District; for current burn bans, Flagler County community information, (386) 313-4111. Source: F.S. 590.125, F.A.C. 62-256.700. Checked October 2026. More in burning clearing debris.
Digging: stumps, culverts and grading
Rule: notify Sunshine 811 at least two full business days before digging, not counting weekends and state and national holidays.
Contact: Sunshine 811, call 811 or (800) 432-4770. Source: Sunshine 811. Checked October 2026. More in stump grinding.
Water, sewer and septic
Rule: a Palm Coast single-family permit needs a water and sewer receipt from the utility with the approved site plan. In the unincorporated county, the building checklist calls for well and septic tank permits from the Environmental Health department, and the site plan shows the septic system's location and top elevation.
Decides: the utility serving the lot (Palm Coast Building Division can point you to it, (386) 986-3780); Flagler County Growth Management, (386) 313-4000, for the county's septic requirements. Checked October 2026.
Have a lot or acreage in Flagler County to clear?
Call or send a short request, and one independent contractor can come look at it. The referral is free.