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Council To Vote On Scaled-Down Tree Permit Fees

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 4, 2009

TAMPA - The city council is expected to vote Thursday on a proposal to lower fees for tree pruning and removal, less than four months after approving an eight-fold increase.

The current rates were part of a plethora of increases for residential and commercial building permits that the council signed off on last October. The changes were aimed at allowing the construction services division to become more self-sufficient. Roughly 65 percent of the building department's $12 million budget is funded by property taxes.

Starting Jan. 1, permit fees for trimming a "grand tree" – or live oaks that measure 34 inches or more in diameter – went up from $35 for three trees to $286 for each tree.

The increases ignited an outcry from arborists and tree companies who argued that they would hurt elderly and working-class families that have dangerous trees in their yards.

Cynthia Miller, director of the growth management department, blamed a consultant hired by the city to evaluate permit fees, saying the city may have been given inaccurate information. Council members claimed they didn't scrutinize every item in the package of increases. And Mayor Pam Iorio demanded that the fees be reduced immediately.

The revised fees would reduce cost of removing a hazardous tree to $128 and $99 for pruning. Next year, however, those fees will increase to $150 and $116 respectively.

Fees for removing grand trees not considered a hazard would remain $514 each.

The council meets at 9 a.m. Thursday at old city hall on 315 E. Kennedy Blvd.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 259-7679.

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