Tree size, condition and whether the parcel is inside a city affect the permit question in Citrus County. We at Broadway Tree Care handle tree removal across the county and can inspect the tree, but this guide is not legal advice: confirm the applicable requirements with the responsible office.
The short answer, before the detail
How big the tree is, whether the ground it stands on is in unincorporated county or inside a city, and whether the tree has become a real danger: those are the three things that decide it. Get those three straight and you will know which rule applies to you. The rest of this page walks through each one.
Unincorporated Citrus County and the four-inch rule
Most of the county, including the land around Crystal River, Homosassa, Lecanto, Beverly Hills and Hernando that is not inside a city, falls under the county tree ordinance. The county calls any perennial woody plant that measures four inches or more across a protected tree, and it measures that width at breast height, which it sets at four and a half feet above the ground. Removing a protected tree usually calls for an individual tree removal permit from the county unless the tree is exempt.
The Citrus County Building Division can explain the options for retaining a tree, replacement planting, mitigation fees based on the trees removed, and any residential replacement-sapling voucher. Call 352-527-5310 or email permit@citruscounty.gov for the requirements on your parcel.
Confirm requirements before clearing a protected tree, since removing one without a required permit can lead to county penalties.
The Florida rule for a genuinely dangerous tree
There is a separate path for a tree that has become a hazard, and it comes from state law rather than the county. Under Florida statute 163.045, a local government cannot require a notice, permit, fee or replanting to prune, trim or remove a tree on single-family residential property if the owner holds documentation that the tree poses an unacceptable risk. The catch is in what counts as documentation. It has to be an on-site risk assessment by an arborist certified through the International Society of Arboriculture or by a Florida-licensed landscape architect, and it has to be signed by that professional. A tree qualifies only when removal is the practical way to bring its risk below moderate.
Florida statute 163.045 applies to qualifying single-family residential property with the required written professional risk assessment, not a phone opinion. Read the signs of a failing tree and arrange an on-site assessment if you are concerned.
Inside a city, the rules can change
If your property sits inside the city limits of Crystal River or Inverness, or over in Dunnellon on the Marion County side, the county ordinance may not be the one that governs you. Incorporated cities can and often do set their own tree rules, their own protected sizes and their own permit offices. It is a short step people miss, and it is the reason two neighbors a mile apart can get different answers. If you are not sure whether you are in the county or a city, that is another good question for the Building Division, or for your city hall.
Trees that usually stay simple
Plenty of removals never touch a permit desk. A tree under the protected size is generally outside the rule, and the county keeps its own list of exemptions on top of that. Because that list is set by the county and can change, the safe move is always a quick call to confirm your specific tree rather than reading a rule off a website, this one included. Confirm the rule and any applicable exemption with the office responsible for your parcel.
How we help before you deal with any of it
We come out, walk the tree, and tell you plainly what we see: whether it looks like a hazard, whether it could be cabled and braced instead of removed, or whether a health assessment would settle it. We are a tree crew, not a permit office, so we do not issue permits and we are not the ones who sign a state hazard assessment, which has to come from a certified arborist or a licensed landscape architect. If the tree does need to come down, we quote the removal on site and in writing, and if it is an emergency we treat it like one. When a permit is part of the job, we will point you to the right county or city office so nothing gets missed.