Tree, Fence and Landscaping Rewrite Hits the Public Mic Tonight in Brooksville

Hernando County takes public comment tonight on a draft ordinance that would throw out Chapter 10 of the county code and replace it, rewriting the rules that govern tree removal, landscaping, buffers, land clearing, irrigation, invasive plants and fences. The town hall and community roundtable runs from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Hernando County Utilities Department, 15365 Cortez Boulevard in Brooksville. Whatever comes out of it lands in front of the Board of County Commissioners at an advertised public hearing on September 1.

Chapter 10 is the county's Community Appearance Regulations. It is the chapter that decides how many trees a project has to keep, what has to be planted along a property line, how tall a fence can be and what happens when someone clears land without a permit. The draft does not amend it piece by piece. It repeals the whole thing and puts a reorganized version in its place.

What the draft actually covers

According to the county, the rewrite addresses general applicability, landscaping, tree surveys, tree retention, protection and mitigation, buffers, street trees, land-clearing permits, landscape plans, irrigation, prohibited invasive plants, alternative compliance and administrative deviations, enforcement, and fence standards.

Where it applies is narrower than the headline suggests. The county says the draft generally applies to development in unincorporated Hernando County that needs site plan, construction drawing, subdivision, planned development or rezoning approval. There are exemptions and qualifications written into the text, which is exactly why staff are telling people to read the draft rather than rely on a summary.

The question homeowners keep asking

Can the county still stop you from cutting down a dangerous tree in your own yard? The draft recognizes the residential-property provisions of Florida law. Under it, qualifying pruning, trimming or removal of a tree on residential property does not require county notice, an application, approval, a permit, a fee or mitigation, as long as the owner has documentation that meets what the draft and state law require. That documentation requirement is the part worth reading closely before anyone starts a chainsaw.

Irrigation standards are in the mix at a pointed moment. The county is under a Modified Phase III extreme water shortage, with restrictions on outdoor watering and an anonymous reporting form for violations.

How to be heard

You can show up in person on Cortez Boulevard or join by Microsoft Teams. The county asks virtual participants to enter their full first and last name when they join so their questions and comments can be identified and entered into the public record. The meeting ID is 229 152 490 169 566 and the passcode is PN3V7vs7.

Preregistration and a comment survey are available at the county's registration link. The draft ordinance and the official agenda item are posted under the documents tab at EngageHernando.com/Trees, where comments can also be submitted online. Comments filed before tonight may be grouped by topic and answered by staff during the roundtable, so writing in early is not a wasted step.

County officials have framed the rewrite as an effort to make the standards clearer and easier to enforce, to line the code up with current practice and state law, and to balance growth, environmental stewardship, property rights and community character. Builders and property owners have their own read on where that balance sits. Tonight is the last scheduled venue for that argument before commissioners take it up.

Nothing has been adopted. The county says the document remains a proposal, still open to public input, staff revision and whatever the board decides to do with it, and that meeting dates and materials can change. Questions about the draft go to the Planning Department at (352) 754-4057.

Stay with Hernando County Community Website for coverage of the September 1 hearing, follow us on Facebook for updates as they break, and tell us how these rules would hit your property when you join the conversation in our Community Forum.

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