Miami Canopy WatchTree Permit Transparency
OverviewMap(desktop)PermitsSpeciesAbout
Tracking the City of Miami's tree permit pipeline

Miami's tree canopy is being permitted away, one folio at a time.

A live, public dashboard of every tree permit moving through the City of Miami's permitting system — removals, root prunings, specimen-tree losses, and the development applications they ride alongside. Built so neighbors don't have to fight blind.

Open the map Search the permitsHow this is built
Source
apps.miami.gov
Permit format
BD25 / BD26
Job category
TREE PERMIT
Updated
Continuously

Sample record · iBuild

Process NumberBD26-009659-001
Property Address3101 GRAND AVE
Folio Number01-4121-030-0020
Job CategoryTREE PERMIT
Plan StatusApplicant Upload — Waiting
Work items: PRIVATE PROPERTY TREE ROOT PRUNING; PRIVATE PROPERTY TREE TRIMMING
Linked Demo PermitBD25-018004-001
Linked New ConstructionBD25-020759-001

Every dot on the map starts as a record like this — pulled from the city's public permit portal, parsed, and joined to property and species data.

By the numbers

A live snapshot of the dataset. Each card links the underlying records — same shape the city's portal returns, just legible.

Tree permits tracked
113
61 involve removal
Specimen-tree removals
36
52 specimen trees in dataset (DBH ≥ 18 in.)
Linked to development
40
Permits with concurrent demo or new construction
Mitigation fees on file
$226.0k
238 replacement trees required

Removals by neighborhood

  • Coconut Grove14
  • Wynwood6
  • Brickell5
  • Edgewater5
  • Little Havana5
  • Upper Eastside4

Permit pipeline

Of 113 tree permits in the system, 31 have been approved or issued, while only 13 have been denied.

For comparison, New York City maintains a public map of every street tree — species, condition, and planting date. Miami currently does not. The CRC formally requested this data on April 29, 2026 and was given a generic i-Tree dashboard with no permit records.

31
Approved / Issued
69
In progress
13
Denied

Specimen-tree removals

Trees the city is letting go.

Specimen trees — the largest, oldest, most ecologically significant — flagged for removal in active permit applications. These are not replaceable in our lifetimes.

View all removals
  • BD26-009673-001

    Live Oak

    Quercus virginiana

    In Review
    3101 Grand Ave· Coconut Grove
    DBH
    36″
    Age
    ~110 yr
    Spread
    60 ft

    Large specimen oak adjacent to lot line. Removal application filed 24 hours after demolition permit on the same folio.

    Filed 2026-04-27Linked to construction
  • BD26-009843-001

    Bald Cypress

    Taxodium distichum

    Applicant Upload
    1111 Brickell Bay Dr· Brickell
    DBH
    48″
    Age
    ~131 yr
    Spread
    76 ft

    Same folio carries an active demolition or new-construction permit.

    Filed 2026-04-27Linked to construction
  • BD26-009774-001

    Mango

    Mangifera indica

    Applicant Upload
    1900 NW 7th Ave· Overtown
    DBH
    21″
    Age
    ~51 yr
    Spread
    35 ft

    Same folio carries an active demolition or new-construction permit.

    Filed 2026-04-25Linked to construction
  • BD26-009767-001

    Live Oak

    Quercus virginiana

    Applicant Upload
    2800 NE 2nd Ave· Wynwood
    DBH
    31″
    Age
    ~60 yr
    Spread
    53 ft
    Filed 2026-04-24
  • BD26-009831-001

    Mahogany

    Swietenia mahagoni

    Approved
    3100 Matilda St· Coconut Grove
    DBH
    34″
    Age
    ~65 yr
    Spread
    51 ft
    Filed 2026-04-08
  • BD26-009874-001

    Strangler Fig

    Ficus aurea

    Applicant Upload
    180 NW 25th St· Wynwood
    DBH
    22″
    Age
    ~46 yr
    Spread
    33 ft
    Filed 2026-03-09

Why this exists

Trees are public infrastructure. Permit data should be too.

On April 29, 2026 the City of Miami's Charter Review Commission formally requested every tree permit ever issued by the city. They were sent a generic i-Tree dashboard with no permit records. This dashboard exists because that one does not.

  • Heat

    Tree canopy can drop neighborhood surface temperatures by 10–25°F. Block by block, removals are pushing Miami’s heat index higher in exactly the neighborhoods that can least afford air conditioning.

  • Flooding

    A single mature live oak intercepts thousands of gallons of stormwater per year. Replacing one with a coconut palm replaces less than a fifth of that capacity, on a sea-level-rise coastline.

  • Hurricane resilience

    Native Florida species — gumbo limbo, mahogany, live oak — are the most wind-resistant and the most often cleared for redevelopment. Their replacements are typically less storm-tolerant, not more.

  • Accountability

    Mitigation fines for removing a 200-year-old tree run a few thousand dollars on a project earning millions. As neighbors testified to the CRC: the fines are a line item, not a deterrent.

Get involved

You don't need a credential to defend a tree on your block.

Search any address. Track any permit. Show up to public meetings with the data already in hand. The portal is public; this site just makes it usable.

Open interactive map Search permit database Browse species guide
Miami Canopy Watch

An independent, public-facing dashboard built to surface what is happening to the City of Miami's tree canopy. Powered by the city's own permit data — made legible.

Explore

  • Interactive map
  • Permit database
  • Species guide
  • About

Sources

  • City of Miami permit portal
  • ePlan naming conventions

Made possible by Serpens Inc. — for the civic infrastructure for Miami.

This is an independent project. Not affiliated with the City of Miami.