Land clearing and tree work in St. Augustine Shores, FL

Last Updated: November 8, 2026

St. Augustine Shores is an unincorporated community south of St. Augustine along US 1, about 19 miles north of Palm Coast. Because it sits outside any city, St. Johns County’s rules apply, not the City of St. Augustine’s 3-inch permit. Sunward Palm Coast Land Clearing clears lots and handles tree and stump work here, and the county’s tree count shapes every plan we write.

Why does the county care how many trees I keep?

Because your site plan has to meet a minimum number of tree inches set by your lot’s zoning, if the lot isn’t already covered by an approved neighborhood site plan. Existing trees of 2 inches and up, measured at 4.5 feet, can count toward it, and specimen trees have to be shown on the plan. Anything short of the minimum gets made up by planting, and the new trees must be at least 70% canopy trees and at least 50% native.

So the keep list is arithmetic. Every healthy oak or pine we keep outside the footprint adds inches; every one that comes down may have to be replaced. We measure each candidate at 4.5 feet and add it up before clearing, so you know how much planting, if any, the site plan will need.

Which trees can come out without counting against me?

Trees in easements and wetlands don’t count either way, and neither do the exempt species: camphor, Chinaberry, tallow, Brazilian pepper, mimosa, Australian pine, and queen and Washington palms. Those are the first trees we take down. Then we clear the footprint the way we handle selective clearing: keepers flagged and fenced at the drip line, the house site cleared and grubbed, and stumps near keepers ground below grade instead of pulled, so we don’t tear the roots of the trees you’re counting on.

Is the ground good for clearing?

Usually, yes. Much of the community sits on moderately well drained fine sand that stays firm through more of the summer than the wet flatwoods farther south, so rain holds us up less here. Dry sand is also gopher tortoise ground, so we walk your lot for burrows first, and work within 25 feet of one needs an FWC permit.

We haul the debris, since a pile burn can’t meet Florida’s 300-foot residential setback on a residential street, and the haul is part of the price. Under the slab, stumps and roots come out with the topsoil, the same as any lot clearing job.

What should I have ready?

The address, the site plan or survey if you have one, and photos of the trees you’d like to keep. Our guide to what clearing includes helps you compare estimates line by line, and our grind or remove guide explains which stumps come out and which get ground.