Land clearing in Hernando, FL starts with a walk of the lot and a few phone calls, not with a machine. Hernando is an unincorporated community in northeastern Citrus County, so county rules apply, and its eastern side runs into the Tsala Apopka lakes and the wetlands of the Withlacoochee River system. Broadway Tree Care does lot and land clearing across Citrus County, Hernando included. This guide covers what to check on a Hernando parcel before the first tree comes down.
Town facts here come from the Hernando, Florida article on Wikipedia. The rules come from the agencies named in each section. Rules change, so read this as a list of questions to confirm for your parcel, not as legal advice.
Hernando follows Citrus County rules
Hernando is a census-designated place, not a city. It has no city hall and no city tree ordinance, so the rules for a Hernando lot come from unincorporated Citrus County. The name causes a second mix-up. Hernando the community is in Citrus County, while Hernando County is a separate county to the south with its own government. A search for Hernando clearing rules can easily turn up the wrong county's code.
In unincorporated Citrus County, a tree four inches or more across at four and a half feet above the ground counts as a protected tree, and removing one usually needs a county permit unless it is exempt. On a wooded lot most of the trees are over that size, so this rule drives most of the paperwork on a clearing job. Our Citrus County tree permit guide explains the rule and the exemptions to ask about. For your parcel, call the Citrus County Building Division at 352-527-5310 before anything is cut.
Find the wetland edge before you plan the clearing
Hernando covers about 35.6 square miles, and close to 11 percent of that is water. The eastern edge of the community extends into Tsala Apopka Lake, part of a chain of lakes and wetlands in the Withlacoochee River system. A lot on that side can have a low corner that looks like ordinary scrub in the dry months and holds water in the wet ones.
Wetland work in Citrus County falls under the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The district states that an Environmental Resource Permit is required before construction activity that would affect wetlands, alter surface water flows or contribute to water pollution. If part of the lot stays soggy after rain or holds standing water, ask the district whether that area counts before you clear toward it.
Wet ground also limits the equipment. A machine that can work a dry sandy lot can rut a soft one, and that changes how the clearing gets done and how long it takes.
Look for gopher tortoise burrows
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission protects gopher tortoises and their burrows. Under the commission's gopher tortoise permitting rules, a landowner needs a permit before land clearing or development within 25 feet of a potentially occupied burrow. FWC staff do not move tortoises for landowners. That work is done by FWC-authorized gopher tortoise agents. If every burrow can be kept 25 feet clear in all directions, FWC says no permit is needed.
Walk the lot for burrows in sandy ground before you collect clearing quotes, not after. If you find any, the clearing date depends on that process, and an authorized agent is the first call.
Check the flood zone and where the house will sit
FEMA's Flood Map Service Center at msc.fema.gov shows the mapped flood zone for an address. On a lot near the lakes, look it up before you decide which trees come out. The house pad, the driveway and a septic drainfield, if the lot uses one, usually belong on the highest and driest ground, and the clearing plan follows from where those go.
Decide what stays
A building lot rarely needs every tree gone. Oaks and pines outside the house pad and driveway can often stay, and under the county rules fewer removals means less to permit and mitigate. Trees you keep need their roots protected from equipment, and our guide to protecting tree roots during construction covers how. If you only want the undergrowth gone, read brush clearing vs land clearing first, because that is a different and usually smaller job.
Stumps, debris and the finished ground
Ask whether the quote includes the stumps, and whether they will be ground below grade or pulled out. A house pad usually needs them out completely, while a yard area can often take grinding. Our stump grinding vs stump removal guide explains the difference. Ask where the debris goes, too. When we clear a lot, the debris is hauled off as part of the job rather than pushed into a pile at the back.
A short checklist for a Hernando lot
- Which trees are four inches or more across at four and a half feet, and which ones are you keeping?
- Has the Citrus County Building Division confirmed what permit the clearing needs?
- Is any part of the lot wet, and has the water management district looked at it?
- Are there gopher tortoise burrows within 25 feet of the work area?
- What flood zone is the lot in, and where will the house pad sit?
- Does the written quote say what happens to stumps and debris?
For more on the community itself, see our page on tree service in Hernando. To have us walk the lot with you and put the scope in writing, request a quote.