Florida Senate - 2022 SB 518 By Senator Brodeur 9-00555-22 2022518__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to residential home protection; 3 amending s. 163.045, F.S.; defining terms; revising 4 conditions under which a local government may not 5 require a notice, application, approval, permit, fee, 6 or mitigation for the pruning, trimming, or removal of 7 a tree on a residential property; specifying when a 8 tree poses an unacceptable risk; providing an 9 effective date. 10 11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 12 13 Section 1.Section 163.045, Florida Statutes, is amended to 14 read: 15 163.045Tree pruning, trimming, or removal on residential 16 property. 17 (1)As used in this section, the term: 18 (a)Documentation means an onsite assessment performed by 19 an arborist certified by the International Society of 20 Arboriculture (ISA) or a registered landscape architect licensed 21 under part II of chapter 481 in accordance with tree risk 22 assessment processes and guidelines established by the ISA, the 23 American National Standards Institute (ANSI), or the 24 International Organization for Standardization and signed by the 25 certified arborist or registered landscape architect. 26 (b)Residential property means an existing single-family, 27 detached building located on an existing lot of record, actively 28 used for single-family residential purposes, and which is either 29 an existing conforming use or a legally recognized nonconforming 30 use in accordance with the local jurisdictions applicable land 31 development regulations. 32 (2)A local government may not require a notice, 33 application, approval, permit, fee, or mitigation for the 34 pruning, trimming, or removal of a tree on a residential 35 property if the property owner possesses obtains documentation 36 from an arborist certified by the ISA International Society of 37 Arboriculture or a registered Florida licensed landscape 38 architect licensed under part II of chapter 481 that the tree 39 poses an unacceptable risk presents a danger to persons or 40 property. A tree poses an unacceptable risk if removal is the 41 only means of practically mitigating its risk below moderate, as 42 defined by the ANSI A300 (Part 9)2017 tree risk assessment 43 standards, using a 2-year timeframe. 44 (3)(2)A local government may not require a property owner 45 to replant a tree that was pruned, trimmed, or removed in 46 accordance with this section. 47 (4)(3)This section does not apply to the exercise of 48 specifically delegated authority for mangrove protection 49 pursuant to ss. 403.9321-403.9333. 50 Section 2.This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.