Land clearing in Cocoa, Rockledge and Port St. John

Cocoa: the rules aim at vacant land

Cocoa's tree protection section applies to vacant and undeveloped property, to open space on developed property and to rights-of-way. It does not apply to single-family or duplex lots. Where it applies, removing a tree takes a tree removal permit and clearing land takes a land clearing permit (Cocoa Code, Appendix A, Art. XIII, s. 22). Regulated trees start at 6 inches dbh; a specimen is a non-exempt hardwood of 24 inches or more.

Florida's dangerous-tree statute, s. 163.045, lets an owner skip local permits for a tree that an ISA Certified Arborist or Florida licensed landscape architect documents as an unacceptable risk on residential property (F.S. 163.045). Cocoa reads residential property narrowly. Vacant land zoned residential or mixed-use doesn't count, and neither do HOA common areas, multifamily sites, rights-of-way or land under a development agreement or easement. On an empty Cocoa lot, plan on permits.

Rockledge: no clearing ahead of development

Rockledge is blunter about vacant land. Removing trees before a site is developed is prohibited, except for exempt trees (Rockledge LDR ss. 108-50 to 108-52). Clearing a wooded Rockledge lot so it shows better for sale isn't an option beyond the exempt list.

That list is useful, though. It covers melaleuca, Australian pine, Brazilian pepper, Norfolk Island pine, eucalyptus other than E. cinerea and chinaberry, along with non-viable or dangerous trees. Single- and two-family lots get an exemption too, provided at least four non-invasive trees from the city's list stay on the lot, or a substitute is planted within 30 days. For PUD lots no wider than 50 feet, three trees is enough.

Port St. John: brush clearing on county land

Port St. John is unincorporated, so the Brevard County clearing permit applies there (Brevard County Code ss. 62-4333 and 62-4337). If your lot backs onto palmetto and pine scrub, a mulched strip between the yard and the woods is firebreak clearing. A forestry mulcher does it without making piles, so there's nothing left to burn.

Backyard burning gets tighter in a drought. Under Brevard County's code, an open burning ban kicks in on its own once the county's average Keetch-Byram Drought Index hits 500 or higher, and it's suspended when the average falls back under 450. State-permitted burns, including FFS-authorized pile burns, are excluded from the county ban (Brevard County Code s. 50-1), so a land clearing pile turns on the Forest Service authorization and its setbacks.

Out along SR 520

West of I-95, SR 520 runs past bigger wooded parcels on the way to the St. Johns River. Check whether a parcel is inside Cocoa's limits before applying for anything, since the answer decides which code and which office you deal with. Acreage clearing and underbrush removal cover the larger jobs.