The City of Seminole’s forms page links a July 2018 tree application and an undated HB 1159 notice. Neither should be used as a substitute for the current Florida statute. The notice’s attached law lacks definitions that appear in the Legislature’s current text—a more important difference than which PDF looks newer.

This guide concerns the City of Seminole in Pinellas County, not Seminole County. It identifies the source mismatch and helps a property owner ask for the exact local document at issue; it does not decide whether a particular removal is exempt.

What changed between the attached law and today’s text

The City notice describes a professional finding of danger and reproduces that earlier wording on page two. The current Section 163.045 is more specific:

  • Residential property has a defined scope: a detached single-family building on a lot actively used for that purpose, with a conforming or legally recognized nonconforming use.
  • Documentation means a signed onsite assessment by an ISA-certified arborist or Florida-licensed landscape architect, using the named 2017 second-edition tree-risk assessment procedures.
  • The finding is unacceptable risk: removal must be the only practical way to reduce risk below moderate under those procedures.

When its conditions are met, the section restricts local notice, application, approval, permit, fee and mitigation requirements, and prohibits required replanting. It preserves the specified mangrove-authority exception. A homeowner’s photograph or a removal estimate does not establish those statutory conditions.

The City PDF has no visible issue date. Its presence in the current forms library establishes availability, not that its attached law is the current version.

The local complication: development conditions

The notice states the City’s position that residential development agreements or development orders can require a permit and possible replacement. It names seven developments, including Seminole Groves, and separately calls for case-by-case contact about certain multifamily properties.

That is a City assertion in this notice, not LSL’s finding that every named property currently owes a permit or that every development condition overrides state law. We did not obtain the individual agreements, orders or a current City legal interpretation. Nor does absence from that list prove exemption.

For a hypothetical owner in Seminole Groves, LSL’s useful next question is not simply “Do I need a permit?” It is:

Which development agreement, order or approved landscape-plan provision applies to this property and tree? Please identify the document and provision, and explain how your requested permit or replacement requirement relates to the current Section 163.045 and the documentation supplied.

Use the same document-specific inquiry if the City cites an unlisted development. Include the actual property identifier and describe whether the tree is on an individual lot or common area. Do not send a hypothetical risk finding as though a professional assessed the tree. A disputed legal answer warrants qualified legal advice; this comparison is not authorization to proceed.

If the City identifies an ordinary application requirement

The July 2018 packet asks for a plan showing structures, driveways and power lines, the species, size and condition of proposed removals, and trees that will remain. Its instructions connect the marked tree to a location map. That is useful preparation after the applicable route has been identified.

Ask Community Development which current application and supporting items apply before relying on the packet’s old fee, replacement schedule or blanket permit statements. Do not approach a hazardous tree to collect measurements or photographs; ask the professional how to obtain the necessary information safely.

Checked September 12, 2026: the current forms hub, its actual linked PDFs, relevant application instructions and the complete current statutory section. LSL compared the texts and wrote the document-specific inquiry; no application was submitted, tree inspected or case-specific City determination received.