# Brush and palmetto clearing in Palm Coast

> Brush and saw palmetto clearing in Palm Coast, including the city's fire hazard rule for brush over 3 feet within 30 feet of a home. Cut low, trees kept.

URL: https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/brush-clearing/

Palmetto and underbrush

Palmetto grown into a wall behind your fence, or a code notice about brush next to a neighbor's house? We cut the understory back to the ground, keep the pines and oaks standing and leave the chips as cover.

![Palmetto and gallberry cut low along a backyard fence with pines left standing](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/images/palmetto-and-gallberry-cut-low-along-a-backyard-fence-with-pines-left-standing-800.webp)

*Understory cut low along the fence; the pines stay.*

**Numbers that set a brush clearing job**

- **3 ft**: average brush height that makes an undeveloped lot a fire hazard beside a home (City of Palm Coast Code Ch. 25)
- **30 ft**: distance from an existing home the rule measures (City of Palm Coast Code Ch. 25)

Last Updated: November 8, 2026

Leave a Palm Coast lot alone for a few years and the understory grows into a wall at head height: saw palmetto, gallberry, fetterbush, wax myrtle, vines and saplings under the pines. [Sunward Palm Coast Land Clearing](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/) cuts that brush back to the ground across Palm Coast and Flagler County, while the pines and oaks worth keeping stay standing.

Most people call us for one of three reasons. You own a lot and got a code notice about brush next to a house, you want the back of your yard opened to the fence, or you’re cleaning up a parcel before you sell, survey or build on it.

## Got a fire hazard notice?

Palm Coast’s code treats brush on an undeveloped lot as a fire hazard when it averages over three feet tall within 30 feet of an existing home. The rule names the plants: saw palmetto, gallberry, fetterbush and wax myrtle, plus pines under 5 inches across. Bigger trees aren’t brush, so you meet the rule by cutting the understory, not by clearing the lot.

The reason is the fuel. Palmetto and gallberry are oily, dense and low, so a fire in them moves fast and throws heat sideways, and brush grown against a house carries that heat to the walls. Cutting the understory and leaving the taller trees takes away most of the fuel near the ground. Our [wildfire hazard guide](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/guide/palm-coast-wildfire-hazard-lots/) covers how the city measures it.

## What happens when we walk the lot

We agree where the work starts and stops. For a fire hazard strip, we measure 30 feet in from each side of the lot that borders a home; a corner lot can border more than one. We check the lot lines, because a brush cutter can cross one in seconds. Trees of 6 inches and over stay standing, and any you want gone go on the list for a [Palm Coast tree permit](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/guide/palm-coast-tree-removal-permit/).

We also look for [gopher tortoise burrows](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/guide/gopher-tortoise-before-clearing/), which are common on dry sandy lots, and anything hidden in the brush: old fence wire, irrigation, utility boxes and dumped debris that would wreck a machine.

## How we cut it

Most brush we cut with a [forestry mulcher](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/forestry-mulching/) or a brush cutter, which grinds palmetto and shrubs to ground level and leaves the chips as cover. Nothing gets hauled, the sand isn’t left bare to wash into the street, and it costs less than full clearing. Near fences, keepers and houses we switch to saws and hand tools. We cut climbing vines at the base and take out dead limbs and fallen wood with the brush, since they burn as readily as palmetto.

If you want the brush gone but some of the young trees kept, tell us which ones on the walk and we flag them; picking out keepers in a thicket is the same careful work we do on [selective clearing](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/selective-clearing/). Pines under 5 inches count as brush under the city’s rule, so small pines inside the 30-foot strip usually come out unless you ask us to keep them and the strip still averages under three feet.

On a vacant Palm Coast lot we deliberately keep it limited. General clearing waits for a house permit, so a brush job leaves the trees standing, doesn’t dig out roots and doesn’t touch the swale.

## Can you clear the strip by the street?

Only by hand. Palm Coast lots front onto a strip of city property between the lot line and the road, with the roadside swale running through it. The city lets you clear vegetation there by hand and remove invasive plants on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council lists, but no heavy equipment, no digging or grading, no tree removal and no root disturbance. So our machines stop at the lot line, and anything beyond it we do with hand tools.

The swale is part of the city’s drainage, and as the owner you’re responsible for keeping it clear. We never leave cut brush in it, and we keep the chips back from its edge so the first heavy rain doesn’t carry them to the culvert.

## Is the neighbor’s overgrown lot your problem?

No. The fire hazard rule is aimed at the owner of the undeveloped lot, not the people living beside it. If you’re worried about brush against your house, the city’s code enforcement office applies the three-foot, 30-foot measure. If you own the lot and live elsewhere, we can handle it remotely and send photos before and after.

## Want the palmetto gone for good?

Mulching takes off palmetto’s fronds but leaves the trunks that creep along and just under the sand, and they send up new fronds within a season. Where the ground is going to be lawn, a pad or a driveway, we pull the trunks and root mass out by machine and level the holes, which is part of [clearing and grubbing](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/clearing-and-grubbing/). Our [palmetto root removal guide](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/guide/palmetto-root-removal/) explains the difference in effort and cost.

## What happens to the cut brush?

Ground in place, it leaves nothing to haul. If you want the ground clean instead, we load the cut brush and haul it to a facility that takes yard waste, and the haul distance sets most of that cost. [Burning it](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/guide/burning-land-clearing-debris-flagler-county/) is effectively ruled out next to homes, because Florida keeps residential pile burns 300 feet from occupied buildings other than yours.

The chips also shade out new seedlings for a while, which buys you time before the next cut. Dumped yard waste, old fence wire and other junk we find in the brush comes out and gets hauled separately; we don’t grind it into the mulch.

## Keeping it under three feet

A fire hazard strip isn’t a one-time job. Palmetto and shrubs regrow from what’s left in the ground, so the strip needs watching and another cut as it grows back toward three feet. A good time for that pass is just before the dry spring months, when Palm Coast’s rainfall is lowest and the brush is driest. We price it like any clearing job, by the strip’s size, density and access; our [cost guide](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/guide/land-clearing-cost-palm-coast/) shows our typical ranges.

## What we do on a brush job

- The area and its edges agreed on the ground, including any strip along a neighbor's home
- Palmetto, gallberry, fetterbush, wax myrtle, vines and saplings cut to ground level
- Trees of 6 inches and up left standing unless permitted
- Dead limbs and fallen wood cleared from the cut area
- Chips left as ground cover or the cut brush hauled, as agreed
- Hand work around fences, keepers and the city strip by the street

## Three ways to deal with brush

|  | Cut and mulch | Grub out | Mow or trim |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| How long it lasts | Until regrowth, usually needs another pass | Palmetto gone where grubbed | Short; regrows quickly |
| Ground left | Covered with chips | Bare sand | Stubble |
| Cost | Lower | Higher, more machine time | Lowest per visit |
| Fits | Fire hazard strips, buffers, yard edges | Future lawn, pad or driveway | Ground already cleared once |

## Related resources

- [LearnOvergrown lots and the Palm Coast fire hazard rule](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/guide/palm-coast-wildfire-hazard-lots/)
- [LearnGetting saw palmetto roots out](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/guide/palmetto-root-removal/)
- [Decision GuideForestry mulching or land clearing?](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/guide/forestry-mulching-vs-land-clearing/)
- [LearnCan you burn land clearing debris in Flagler County?](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/guide/burning-land-clearing-debris-flagler-county/)

How the work runs

## How a brush clearing job runs

1. **First call** Tell us the address or parcel number, what you plan for the lot, which trees should stay and whether the house permit has been issued. Phone photos help.
2. **Lot walk** We find the lot lines, flag your keepers, note trunk sizes for the permit list, look for tortoise burrows and wet ground, and check access from the street.
3. **Clearing day** We put silt fence up first, cut the brush, take down the trees in the plan and grub the house footprint, then mulch, spread or haul the debris as agreed.
4. **Hand-off** We leave the swale clean and walk the lot with you or your builder, including what comes next: grading, sod and the final inspection.

## What this work looks like

- ![Dense saw palmetto thicket at shoulder height on a vacant lot](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/images/dense-saw-palmetto-thicket-at-shoulder-height-on-a-vacant-lot-800.webp)
- ![Brush cutter working along a lot line beside a fence](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/images/brush-cutter-working-along-a-lot-line-beside-a-fence-800.webp)
- ![Thirty-foot strip cut low between a vacant lot and a house](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/images/thirty-foot-strip-cut-low-between-a-vacant-lot-and-a-house-800.webp)
- ![Chips left as ground cover under kept slash pines](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/images/chips-left-as-ground-cover-under-kept-slash-pines-800.webp)

![Overgrown vacant lot edge with palmetto against a neighbor's fence](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/images/overgrown-vacant-lot-edge-with-palmetto-against-a-neighbor-s-fence-800.webp)

*Before*

![The same edge cut low with the pines standing and the fence clear](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/images/the-same-edge-cut-low-with-the-pines-standing-and-the-fence-clear-800.webp)

*After*

## Brush clearing questions

### My neighbor's vacant lot is overgrown next to my house. What can I do?

The brush rule applies to the owner of the undeveloped lot, not to neighbors, so the work has to be arranged by that owner. Palm Coast Code Enforcement handles complaints about brush that meets the fire hazard definition.

### Does brush clearing need a permit in Palm Coast?

Cutting understory brush is not the same as removing trees, but trees of 6 inches and over still need a permit, and general clearing of a vacant lot waits for a house permit. The city's Urban Forestry office can confirm what a specific lot needs.

### How low is the brush cut?

To ground level or just above it, with a mulcher or brush cutter. That leaves the strip well under the three-foot average the city's rule uses and buys you the most time before it needs cutting again.

### Will the brush grow back?

Palmetto and most hardwood shrubs do, from trunks and roots left in the ground. Pines don't. Keeping a fire hazard strip compliant usually means checking it each year and cutting again when it grows back toward three feet.

### I don't live in Palm Coast. Can you handle the lot without me there?

Yes. Send the address and the code notice if you have one, and we walk the lot, write the scope to the rule's 30-foot measure and send photos before and after the work.

Often part of the same job

## Related services

Brush ground in place

### [Forestry mulching](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/forestry-mulching/)

Palmetto, brush and small trees ground where they stand into a mulch layer. Roots stay in the ground, so it suits yards, buffers and acreage, not a slab.

Keeping the good trees

### [Selective clearing](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/selective-clearing/)

Brush and unwanted trees out around the oaks and pines you are keeping, with the keepers flagged before any machine arrives and the permit list in order.

Vacant lot beside your home

### [Clearing the lot next door](https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/adjacent-lot-clearing/)

The vacant Palm Coast lot beside the house you own, cleared once the two lots are tied together in writing, as the city requires before any clearing.

Get a brush clearing estimate

Send the address, which side of the lot borders a home, and a few photos of the brush.

[(386) 465-4658](tel:+13864654658)

- **Mon-Fri**: 8am-6pm
- **Sat-Sun**: 9am-2pm

Outside these hours, emergency calls only.

## Contact Sunward Palm Coast Land Clearing

- Phone: [(386) 465-4658](tel:+13864654658)
- Email: [office@sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com](mailto:office@sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com)
- Address: 18 Market Ave, Palm Coast, FL 32164
- Hours: Monday to Friday 8am-6pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am-2pm (America/New_York). Outside these hours, emergency calls only.
- Request an estimate: https://sunwardpalmcoastlandclearing.com/contact/#estimate