Miami’s surge in challenges to tree-removal permits is moving to a new front Thursday: the City Commission.
Commissioners are scheduled to hear four tree appeals, including two involving Coconut Grove properties where residents successfully persuaded the city’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board to overturn removal permits earlier this year.
The hearings mark the latest stage in an unprecedented wave of challenges to city decisions allowing trees to be removed — a movement that has strained the appeals process and intensified scrutiny of how Miami administers its tree protection ordinance.
At least 14 tree-removal appeals had been filed by early summer, compared with just one during all of 2025. A new round of appeals is expected later this month.
To handle the increased volume, city staff added a second monthly meeting to the HEP Board’s schedule, with one devoted largely to tree appeals.
The July meeting lasted more than eight hours, drawing more than 100 residents, developers and attorneys to City Hall.
The HEP Board can uphold, overturn or modify a city tree-removal decision. But its rulings can also be appealed, putting the final decision in the hands of the City Commission.
Three of Thursday’s cases have followed that path. The fourth, involving a tree on a city right of way in Morningside, is being appealed directly to commissioners.
Two of the cases come from Coconut Grove.
At 3736 Irvington Ave., the city approved removal of a large live oak in April. A neighbor appealed, and the HEP Board voted 5-0 in July to overturn the city’s decision. The property owner is now asking commissioners to reinstate the removal approval.
At 3834 El Prado Blvd., the HEP Board voted 4-2 in May to overturn a city decision allowing the removal of 15 trees and relocation of five others. The property owner has appealed that ruling.
In both Coconut Grove cases, the city’s Environmental Resources Division recommends siding with the property owners and reinstating the original removal decisions.
READ MORE: Miami's tree permitting overhaul returns as quiet changes take root
A third case involves a MiMo District property at 645 NE 64th St., where Sierra Club Miami Group is appealing an HEP Board decision involving the proposed removal of 27 hardwood trees and 19 palms.
The fourth involves a tree on city right of way near 501 NE 55th Terrace in Morningside. City officials say the tree is structurally compromised and poses a safety risk; the Morningside Civic Association is challenging the city’s decision to remove it.
The appeals arrive amid a broader reassessment of Miami’s tree regulations. The city has created a Tree Ordinance Advisory Committee and recently held a series of community workshops seeking public input on its tree rules and permitting process.
The committee, which began meeting in July, is expected to develop recommendations for changes to the city’s tree ordinance by next spring. Any changes would ultimately require City Commission approval.
Thursday’s four appeals are scheduled to be heard during the commission meeting beginning at 9 a.m. at Miami City Hall.
This story was originally published in the Coconut Grove Spotlight, a WLRN News partner.
