Florida Department of Transportation standards require trees/vegetation be maintained above the minimum standards at all times and under all conditions:

• FDOT minimum maintained height is 8 feet over sidewalks. Manatee County Government Maintenance Trimming Height is 10 feet over sidewalks.

This height clearance is necessary to allow for safe traveling of the roadways by emergency response vehicles, school buses, commercial vehicles, and recreational vehicles.

If you have a tree/vegetation near the side of a road or sidewalk, crews may come trim your tree/vegetation to meet these requirements. Tree/vegetation trimming is performed in areas with the greatest need and scheduling priorities can change based on community and safety demands. If your tree or vegetation is under the maintained height and extends into the road/sidewalk it may be removed or trimmed 2 feet behind the back edge of pavement.

Manatee County has a specified Maintenance trimming height of 18’ over roadways and 10’ over sidewalks to ensure reasonable maintenance intervals. The reason for this is:

• To provide longevity of the cut and account for the growth that will occur during the long interval between trimmings (currently 3-5 years)

• Branches pruned by Manatee County will meet ANSI Tree Trimming industry standards on pruning for the overall health (this sometimes requires pruning a branch all the way back to a trunk).

• Complete Scope of Work