Land and brush clearing in Ormond-by-the-Sea, FL

Last Updated: November 8, 2026

Ormond-by-the-Sea is an unincorporated community of about 7,300 people on the barrier island north of Ormond Beach, roughly 17 miles from Palm Coast. Because it isn’t a city, Volusia County’s tree rules apply. Sunward Palm Coast Land Clearing clears lots, brush and stumps there, and we start with the question the county asks first: is this a vacant lot or someone’s home?

Volusia County requires tree removal permits for vacant lots and for non-residential and commercial property. Owner-occupied single- and two-family homes zoned residential are exempt, except for trees in wetlands or upland buffers. Underbrushing needs no tree permit, but protected trees in setbacks and historic trees in the buildable area must not be harmed, and underbrushing isn’t allowed in wetlands or buffers. When a house is built, trees of 6 inches and up in the setbacks, pines and palms included, are protected, along with historic trees in the buildable area. Residential lots need one tree per 2,500 square feet, and replacement is figured at 15% of the cross-sectional square inches removed, or 7% for sand pine. Those rules make selective clearing our natural plan on a lot with trees along its edges.

The ground is coastal sand. A soil sample at the community’s center finds a Palm Beach-Urban land-Paola complex, excessively drained, so wet ground is rarely the problem; blowing and washing sand on a bare lot is, and we cover it quickly with chips or sod. Dry sand also suits gopher tortoises, and work within 25 feet of a burrow needs an FWC permit. We haul the debris, since burning can’t meet Florida’s setbacks on a residential street, and Volusia County lists yard trash at $31.44 a ton in the state’s disposal fee table.

Vacant lot or your home: what changes

On a vacant lot you’re building on, the county’s tree removal permit comes first, and we keep and protect the trees of 6 inches and over in the setbacks while we clear and grub the house footprint. At an owner-occupied home, removing a tree generally needs no county permit unless it stands in a wetland or upland buffer, but underbrushing still mustn’t harm protected setback trees or historic trees. Either way our lot clearing page covers the method, and we grind the stumps near trees that stay instead of pulling them, so their roots don’t come out too.

Where trees have to be replaced, the county’s 15% of cross-sectional inches makes a big removed tree add up fast, so keeping one healthy tree in a setback can save you several replacements. Our prices for the clearing itself follow the land clearing cost guide.