Fort Pierce special magistrate orders $5,000 fine for protected-tree trimming, reduces lien and sets cleanup deadlines across multiple properties

Special Magistrate Jamie Barrow ordered a $5,000 fine for unpermitted trimming of a protected tree at 1408 Zephyr Avenue and imposed a series of cleanup and abatement orders across multiple Fort Pierce properties during a special magistrate hearing on Aug. 20, 2025.

The court found that the trimming at 1408 Zephyr Avenue was “irreparable and irreversible in nature,” cited a state statute, and accepted the city’s recommendation to assess the maximum penalty. Mark Green, Parks and Grounds Division manager for the City of Fort Pierce, testified that the tree was a live oak and that his field measurements showed a circumference of 148.5 inches, which converts to a diameter at breast height of about 47.3 inches. Green said the tree’s canopy had been drastically reduced and that, in his opinion, “it’s at least 1 half of the canopy removed and potentially 5 eighths total volume of canopy been removed.”

Addy Soler, who identified herself as a friend of the property owner, said the owners had recently bought the house, cut branches that were over the roof and replaced the roof, and “we apologize. We…