Longboat's tree ordinance revamp moves along

Ever since the Longboat Key Town Commission planted a seed for the Planning and Zoning Board to “take a look at” the town’s tree code, the board has been hard at work evaluating changes to its tree ordinance. 

“We’ve been asked by the commission to recommend what should be done with the tree code. Should it be rewritten totally, should it be modified,” Planning and Zoning Board Chair David Lapovsky said. “That’s up to us to make a recommendation.”

On April 13, the board met with subject matter experts to discuss potential revisions. Longboat Key Planning Manager Elma Glisson said those experts — Todd Little with the state Urban Forestry Program and local landscaper David Glosser — were provided a packet with the town’s existing tree code, memos sent to the board on the subject and questions from the board for clarification from the subject matter experts. Alyssa Vinson with UF IFAS was not able to attend but provided comments in the board’s packet.

Still top of mind to all involved in policy making on Longboat Key are the dual 2024 hurricanes that impacted the barrier island. That includes the tree code, which was amended in 2025 to exempt trees from removal permit requirements that had been severely damaged from natural disasters.

Photo by S.T. Cardinal

At the meeting, Lapovsky asked Little, coordinator with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Urban Forestry Program, whether potentially expanding the town’s list of prohibited trees should take into account whether a species could survive storm surge like was seen in 2024.

“In observing the recent saltwater intrusion that we had two years ago with the hurricanes, there were specific species that really fared terribly, and it cost a lot of people and a lot of associations a lot of money,” Lapovsky said. “One of the species was podocarpus, and we saw miles of dead podocarpus that people replaced.” Podocarpus is a non-native ornamental tree or shrub.

Right now, 11 tree species are prohibited on Longboat Key. The “nuisance exotic” species common names are Brazilian pepper tree, punk tree, ear tree, Chinaberry tree, Cuban laurel, silk oak, silver dollar tree, strangler fig, India rosewood, Australia pine and carrotwood.

Whether that list will be expanded, reduced or left alone is one thing being considered by the Planning and Zoning Board. Little recommended keeping the prohibited list small, instead recommending “supplemental educational documents” that can be shared with those looking to plant on their properties with information about salt tolerance, growth rate and cold hardiness.

After discussions on how to alter the tree code have continued for almost a year (Town Commission gave its initial direction to the Planning and Zoning Board in May 2025), a draft ordinance may be coming soon, but not before one more workshop.

“We are going to have a draft summarizing all the points that we’ve heard, making some recommendations that the board can sort of mull over and discuss further that we can then turn that into an ordinance with specific recommendations,” Glisson said.

After that workshop, a draft ordinance could be presented before the board at a meeting for the first of two necessary public hearings. With a summer break scheduled, the draft ordinance would not be slated for a final vote until September. Then it would head to Town Commission with a positive or negative recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Board.