Environmental committee voted to write more tree rules into Beach construction law

On April 9, 2026, St. Augustine Beach’s Sustainability and Environmental Planning Advisory Committee voted to send a “Managing Your Urban Forest” document to the city manager’s office with a recommendation that it be incorporated into Chapter 15, Article 3 of the city code at the earliest possible City Commission meeting.

Members said the absence of explicit construction-phase tree-protection standards has limited enforcement. The attached draft would require fencing retained trees during land clearing, with a protected radius of at least nine times the trunk diameter — a 20-inch tree would need a 15-foot fenced circle. The size cutoff was left as “greater than XX inches,” for the city to decide.

City Clerk Dariana Fitzgerald said a manual the code already points to can be updated by resolution, but new enforceable language in the code requires an ordinance. Member Craig Thomson moved to forward the document; Vice Chair Todd Grant seconded; the motion passed unanimously.

Final wording would still need city attorney and staff review before any commission vote.