Recent comments by the Miami City Commission chair are encouraging, but the fight to protect Miami’s tree protection ordinance is far from over.
Editor’s Note: Sandy Moise is director of policy at the Miami-based Urban Paradise Guild and a founding member of Miami’s Trees Matter Most, a group working to strengthen the city’s tree protection ordinance. She wrote this opinion piece for the Spotlight.
At her March 25 community meeting to discuss proposed changes to the City of Miami’s tree protection ordinance and its Tree Trust Fund, Miami City Commission Chair Christine King announced that she believes the legislation should be withdrawn entirely or deferred for at least six months.
She opened her remarks with a strong and courageous message, “I plant trees, I don’t cut them down.”
To those of us working vigorously to strengthen our tree laws not weaken them, it was an encouraging step in the right direction.
Commissioner Gabela introduced this agenda item in October 2024, characterizing it as original legislation stemming from constituent complaints and concerns.
But upon review of emails obtained through an expensive public records request, this is the same item the City of Miami’s Building Department and city administration have been working on and trying to get on the agenda since 2020.
The agenda item proposes dismantling core protections in Miami’s existing Tree Ordinance, one of the city’s most important tools for safeguarding our urban canopy.
The ordinance would repeal the current Tree Trust Fund structure, strip oversight from the Resilience and Public Works Department, centralize control under the City Manager, and authorize up to 20% of Tree Trust funds to be spent on unrelated uses.
The proposed ordinance also introduces vague exemptions that would make it far easier to remove mature, healthy trees — weakening enforcement and accelerating canopy loss.
Commissioner Gabela and Building Department staff claimed the proposed changes would make it more affordable for homeowners to maintain their trees, yet the existing code already includes a generous hardship exemption for those who qualify and allows for trimming up to 25% of your tree canopy per year without a permit.
City commissioners and the Building Department have also proclaimed that they are only trying to align with the Miami-Dade County’s tree ordinance, which is much weaker than the city’s.
Let’s be clear: We don’t want a weaker ordinance. When the city’s existing tree ordinance was approved, it was approved knowing it was stronger than the county’s. That was intentional to protect and expand the canopy throughout the city.
Commissioner Gabela’s proposed ordinance does not fix problems, it bypasses them. It prioritizes developer convenience and short-term construction interests at the expense of Miami’s long-term environmental resilience, public health, and quality of life.
If any changes are to be considered for Miami’s existing tree ordinance, they must go through a transparent, unbiased, and inclusive process. That means involving all stakeholders, not just the city’s Building Department and developers, but also residents, neighborhood associations, university researchers, public health experts, and the sustainability and resilience departments of our local businesses.
The fight to save our trees is not over. I urge readers to call and email City of Miami commissioners before the April 24 commission meeting.
Demand that the agenda item proposing changes to our Tree Ordinance be withdrawn, not deferred. Deferrals are a tactic used to wear us down.
We must stay observant and united to ensure this harmful ordinance does not quietly return to the agenda in the months, or years, ahead.
Sandy, thank you for staying engaged and keeping us up to date on the shenanigans at City Hall.