Pinellas County development services on Thursday proposed a comprehensive revision to the land development code sections that govern tree removal, mitigation and residential lot tree requirements, saying the current rules produce outcomes that discourage permitting and, in some cases, lead owners to rely on statutory exemptions.

The presentation matters to homeowners, builders and neighborhood groups because the county's new approach would lower some replacement counts, change mitigation math and set new payment-in-lieu rates intended to make compliance feasible on small residential lots while preserving the largest, healthiest trees.

Stacy Tippens, environmental division manager, and Kevin McCandrew, director of Building and Development Review Services, described recurring problems under the current code: inch-for-inch mitigation and a separate landscape minimum often require many new trees to compensate for small removals, producing replacement totals homeowners and contractors find impractical. Tippens showed an example where removing two trees totaling 40 inches in diameter under the current code could require more than two dozen 2-inch caliper replants; under the proposed methodology that same removal would require far fewer replants and a lower payment in lieu.

Key proposed changes discussed at the work session:
- Replace the current seven-category grading system with four tree-quality categories and recalibrate mitigation so larger, higher-grade trees require greater compensation while smaller or lower-grade trees require less.
- Offer a clear mitigation formula and options: onsite replanting, payment to the county tree bank, or a combination; staff proposed $500 per unplanted tree for commercial sites and a lower rate (presented as $300 per unplanted tree) for constrained residential properties.
- Reduce certain lot-level landscape requirements for small residential lots and add a cap so required trees do not grow unbounded with lot size.
- Allow credit for removing undesirable or invasive species when replacing them with native vegetative communities and double credit for some native community plantings under defined conditions.

Tippens said the proposed changes aim to encourage property owners to use the permitting process rather than rely on a 2019 statutory exemption for hazardous-tree removal that some residents have used in ways staff call improper.

Commissioners asked about tradeoffs. Commissioner Nowakian said he supports compliance incentives but urged staff not to "give up too much" and to make sure the county does not send the message that trees are less valued. Commissioner Scheer said the ordinance as written has at times felt like an overreach and suggested smaller thresholds or exemptions for very small removals; Commissioner Eggers asked whether staff and stakeholder groups had reviewed the draft, and staff said they presented to a development community advisory group (DECAG) and received favorable feedback.

Tippens said the code changes will go through the normal Land Development Regulation Commission and Planning Board (LPA) processes and could be adopted by the end of 2025 for an effective date in January 2026 if reviews go smoothly.

Ending: Staff emphasized the goal of preserving the largest trees and restoring native understory while making mitigation feasible on small lots; commissioners asked staff to continue outreach and return with draft ordinance language through the regular land-development code process.