Tree Removal in Sunrise, FL

Tree Removal in Sunrise needs a permit, and so does tree trimming. That second part catches people off guard, because several nearby cities only regulate removals. The City of Sunrise says permits are required for tree trimming and/or tree removal, with applications handled by the Engineering Division of the Community Development Department. A full-time City Forester in that department handles tree permitting, and permit questions go to 954-746-3270.

Because of that, we treat permit timing as part of the schedule on every Sunrise job, including a routine canopy thinning. We'll tell you what the work involves in writing, which makes the application straightforward.

A city that plants every year

Sunrise has held the Tree City USA title since 1988. That status requires an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per resident, a tree board (in Sunrise, the Leisure Services advisory board) and a community tree ordinance. The city's Arbor Day plantings, mostly at Sawgrass Sanctuary, read like a list of good South Florida natives: live oak in 2014 and 2015, green buttonwood in 2018, satinleaf in 2023, dahoon holly in 2024 and wild tamarind in 2025. Those are also the kinds of trees we suggest when you need something to replace a removed tree.

Built in the 1960s and 70s

Developer Norman Johnson paid $9 million in 1960 for 2,650 acres and incorporated Sunrise Golf Village in 1961; the name changed to Sunrise in 1971. The population went from 7,403 in 1970 to 39,681 in 1980, so a large share of homes date from that decade. Yard trees planted then are now 45 to 55 years old. Black olives and ficus from that era are a frequent problem: large, heavy-crowned and planted close to driveways and sewer lines.

Wind from the west

Sunrise sits on the urban development boundary, with annexed land reaching to the Everglades. After Hurricane Wilma in 2005, an aerial survey found about 70% of homes and businesses in Sunrise, Plantation, Davie and three other cities had some degree of damage. Rainfall averages around 62 inches a year, most of it June through September, so the soil is often soft exactly when storms arrive.

Typical Sunrise jobs

• Removing 1970s-era black olives and ficus that have lifted driveways
• Taking down trees crowding pool decks and screen rooms
• Permit-ready crown reductions and clearance pruning
• Removing storm-split or declining trees
• Stump grinding before planting a replacement native

Plant It Forward and replacement trees

Sunrise backs up its own plantings with tree giveaways and public education, including free plants at the Earth Day Festival's Arbor Day celebration and the Plant It Forward program launched in 2020. If a removal leaves a gap in your yard, those programs are a low-cost way to start a replacement. Pick the spot first: a tree that will be 40 feet wide does not belong under the service drop or three feet from the slab, which is how many of the 1970s trees we remove got into trouble.

With a 68.8% owner-occupied rate and about 90% of residents in the same home as a year earlier, Sunrise is a city of long-term owners, and many of our calls are about trees the owner planted decades ago. Call (954) 314-3415 or send the form to schedule a free estimate. Get a free estimate