Fence line clearing in Brevard County

Find the line before you clear it

Fences go where the survey says, not where the old fence happens to sit. Find the corner markers, or have a surveyor stake the line, before clearing. That matters most on acreage in Grant-Valkaria or Mims, where old wire wanders. Clearing a strip a few feet inside the line keeps the work on your land.

Boundary trees need care. UF/IFAS describes the general rule: a neighbor can cut back branches or roots that cross onto their side, up to the property line and at their own cost, but taking down a healthy boundary tree without the other owner's agreement can create liability (UF/IFAS, Handbook of Florida Fence and Property Law). Talk to the neighbor first. This is general information, not legal advice.

What grows in a fence row

Fence rows are where volunteers take hold. In Brevard that can mean Brazilian pepper, a Florida noxious weed and Category I invasive whose large stands resprout after cutting unless the stumps are treated (UF/IFAS), and air potato vines, also Category I (UF/IFAS). Grapevine, greenbrier and young pines and oaks fill in the rest.

Old wire and fallen posts hide in the growth, and a mulcher that hits them ruins both the wire and the teeth. Say if there's old fence to come out, and decide whether it's being saved, hauled off or left.

Rules that still apply on a fence line

A fence line is still clearing in the eyes of the code.

• Fence line or not, a Palm Bay tree with a diameter at breast height of 6 inches or more needs a permit to come down (s. 175.014).
• In unincorporated Brevard, protected trees start at 10 inches for hardwoods and 14 inches for pines on the mainland (s. 62-4332).
• Bona fide agriculture is exempt from the county's land clearing rules (s. 62-4334), which may cover fence work on a working farm. Confirm your property qualifies.
• Post holes are digging. Give Sunshine 811 two full business days' notice before the fence goes in (Sunshine 811).
• Keep 25 feet from gopher tortoise burrows unless an FWC permit covers the work (FWC).

Width and finish

Ask the fence installer how much room they need, then add enough for a mower to run along both sides later. A strip mulched flat works for wire or board fence. A vinyl or chain-link installer may want bare ground at the posts. Agree on the width in feet and get it in the written price.

Questions for the crew

A few answers decide how the line looks a year from now:

• How wide a strip, measured from the line?
• Is old wire and post removal included?
• Mulched in place, or hauled?
• How will pepper stumps be treated?
• Are any trees on the line big enough to need a permit?