Site clearing · Palm Beach County
Site clearing in Palm Beach County
Clearing a Palm Beach County lot starts with trees, not machines. Unincorporated areas, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, and Lantana each have their own vegetation rule, and a demolition permit does not always cover clearing. We sort the permits before touching the brush.
In unincorporated Palm Beach County, removing trees takes a Tree Removal and Replacement Permit from the Zoning Division’s Landscape Section, and the process opens with an on-site meeting with a Zoning Landscape Inspector. Certain project types also need Environmental Resources Management approval for native vegetation.
The cities go their own way. Wellington requires a permit for tree removals, fruit trees included. Royal Palm Beach Sec. 15-71 bars removing vegetation from any lot without a permit, with exemptions such as storm-destroyed trees. Lantana and Manalapan both say land clearing needs a permit separate from demolition.
Ground conditions change across the county. At Belle Glade, University of Florida research measured about 48 inches of subsidence in the organic muck soils between 1924 and 1967. Closer to the coast, Haverhill’s demolition checklist wants a silt fence in place before any earth moves.
Send the survey, an aerial or photos of the lot, and any tree survey you hold. We will walk it and price the clearing with each permit named.
Sequence
- Walk the lot with the survey and mark what stays.
- Confirm tree, vegetation and clearing permits for the address.
- Coordinate a licensed tree contractor for permitted removals.
- Install silt fence and erosion controls.
- File the Sunshine 811 ticket before any digging.
- Clear, grub and remove buried debris, hauling to SWA-permitted facilities.
- Grade to the survey and hand over the lot.
The usual problems
What tends to go wrong, and how it is handled
A tree that needed a permit
Unauthorized removal carries penalties; North Palm Beach, for one, lists triple fees or a stop-work order. We confirm the tree rule for the address before any cut.
Silt in the street and the canal
Bare ground on a canal lot sheds sediment in the first heavy rain. Silt fence and inlet protection go in before grading, as Haverhill requires.
Debris buried under the brush
Old lots can hide slabs, septic tanks and dumped fill. We probe before excavating, and Romco self-performs dewatering where a cut reaches groundwater.
Outside our license
Tree removal is done by licensed tree contractors and arborists we coordinate. Wetland and environmental determinations come from the agencies and their consultants, not from us. Fill import and final grading follow your engineer’s plan.
Questions
About site clearing
Do I need a tree permit to clear my lot in Wellington?
Wellington’s landscape regulations say a permit is required for tree removals, fruit trees included, while trimming up to 25% needs none. We confirm the current rule with the village before work starts and coordinate a licensed tree contractor for the removals.
Does a demolition permit cover clearing the lot?
Often it does not. Manalapan’s demolition permit covers the structure only, with land clearing and landscape removal on separate permits, and Lantana says tree removal and site clearing need their own permits. We confirm with the building department for the address.
What does a demolition cost, and what moves the number?
We do not publish prices, because the number depends on what surrounds the building. The main drivers are structure type and size, asbestos findings, truck access, the permit and utility requirements for the address, any below-grade work, and the haul to SWA-permitted facilities. Local rules move it too: the Town of Palm Beach requires a bond of the demolition cost plus 35%. Send the survey and photos, and we will price it.
Do you quote demolition of any size?
Yes. Size never rules a job out: we price everything from a single shed or an interior strip-out to a commercial site or a concrete tower. Every job is priced from the same questions: which department issues the permit, what the asbestos rules require, which utility releases are needed, and in what sequence the structure comes down. Send what you have, and we will say what else we need.
Is Romco licensed, and who does the specialty work?
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor. We self-perform demolition, dewatering, Support of Excavation and deep foundations. Asbestos surveys come from independent licensed consultants and removal from licensed abatement firms. Utility disconnects, tree removal, electrical, plumbing, fire sprinkler work and engineering go to the licensed parties for those trades, and we coordinate them under one schedule.
Order of work
From first call to closed permit
Call or send the form
Give the address, what is coming down and anything that must be protected. Photos or a survey help.
Walk the property
We check the structure, live services, truck access, trees, the seawall or neighbor close by, and any association rules.
Scope and price in writing
Removal, protection, haul-off and anything that depends on the asbestos survey are listed line by line.
Notices, letters and permit
The licensed asbestos survey and any health department notice, the utility releases, then the application to the right building office.
Take it down and haul it out
Work runs in the agreed order. Loads go to Solid Waste Authority–permitted facilities, or the hauler your city requires.
Final inspection and close-out
The inspector signs off and the permit closes. You keep a graded lot or the shell you asked for.
Site clearing throughout Palm Beach, including West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Palm Beach (the Town), Jupiter, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Wellington, Lake Worth Beach, Unincorporated Palm Beach County, and every other Palm Beach city.
More demolition
Other demolition we quote
- Interior demolitionStrip-outs inside condos, offices and stores, with the asbestos question settled first.Interior demolition in Palm Beach →
- Selective demolitionOne wing, one floor or one wall removed while the rest of the building stays in use.Selective demolition in Palm Beach →
- Commercial demolitionStores, offices, warehouses and plazas, taken down once the releases are in hand.Commercial demolition in Palm Beach →
- House demolitionSingle-family teardowns, with the sheds, pool and septic tank handled to code.House demolition in Palm Beach →
- Structural demolitionConcrete towers, parking garages and steel frames, taken down in engineered sequence.Structural demolition in Palm Beach →
- Concrete removalSlabs, driveways, patios, walks and footings, broken out after the locates are in.Concrete removal in Palm Beach →
- Pool removalBottom broken out and filled, or the shell, deck and equipment removed entirely.Pool removal in Palm Beach →
- Mobile home demolitionSingle units or several in one park, with approvals and permits in order first.Mobile home demolition in Palm Beach →
- Storm damage demolitionTaking down what a hurricane or tornado left unsafe, once the adjuster has seen it.Storm damage demolition in Palm Beach →
- Asbestos coordinationLicensed survey, health department notice and licensed abatement, in the right order.Asbestos coordination in Palm Beach →
- Accessory structure demolitionSheds, detached garages, cabanas, carports, barns and signs, one or several.Accessory structure demolition in Palm Beach →
- Something else?Every type of demolition is quoted, whatever the size. If your job is missing above, describe it on the phone.Call (561) 273-9189 →
Every type, every size, all of Palm Beach County
Tell us the address and the scope. We will put a number on it.
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale. A single wall or a whole building, each quote arrives as a written scope with a price.