Atlantic Beach puts up notices of tree removal on properties being developed. | Michelle Corum, Jacksonville Today
Published on February 2, 2026 at 3:36 pm
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Atlantic Beach residents are imploring city administrators to do more to protect several large, legacy trees slated for removal for development projects, especially since a 240-year-old oak near the Tide Views Preserve was cut down last month.
The city, for its part, feels under administrative constraints when it comes to saving old trees from being felled. On Jan. 22, Atlantic Beach posted about the removal of the large Live Oak at 445 W. 1st St., a property that backs up to Tide Views Preserve.
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The parcel is being split into two lots. The city explained that with the tree’s central location on the site, development was not feasible while maintaining the structure. Because the developer had met all criteria, the city had no legal alternative but to issue the permit.
The city also posted that to mitigate the loss of that tree, the developer was required to provide more than 54 inches of replacement trees or pay nearly $10,000 into the city’s Tree Protection Fund to support reforestation efforts elsewhere — or a proportional combination of both.
In another part of town with iconic, majestic trees, Atlantic Beach native Kenny Richards is upset about some irreplaceable old oaks in the Sevilla neighborhood on 19th Street.
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“There are some pretty big, ancient oaks back there, and they’re wanting to develop,” said Richards, who described a house on Hickory Lane, recently purchased by developers wanting to tear it down and build two houses.
Richards reached out to the developer, which responded that, according to its arborist, one of the four large oaks near the house was dying. Two others had root systems under much of the lot, and removing the roots would kill the trees, the developer said.
Richards is skeptical about an arborist hired by developers who might provide desired results to move forward with a project. He said there are other ways to approach development that don’t require ripping up all the ground, trees and roots.
“And if his specific development model requires that level of excavation and work, then that’s what’s gonna happen, but there are lots of other architectural models and ways to build that don’t result in that,” Richards said. The developer also responded to Richards that the city code lacks the flexibility to grant exceptions for sensitive sites and that seeking a variance could take up to six months.
At Atlantic Beach City Commission meetings, tree enthusiasts have spoken in support of preserving old trees. On Jan. 26, Mayor Curtis Ford, who said Atlantic Beach does a “better than average job” of protecting its trees, still called the issue “glaring” — something the city should address.
“You won’t replace a 250-year-old oak tree in my lifetime, or your lifetime, or your children’s or even your children’s children’s lifetime,” he said.
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Fort encouraged city staff to look into options for stronger ordinances, like those he’s seen in Sarasota, where attempts are made to design construction around trees of a certain circumference, especially for what he called the “really important trees” like live oaks, magnolias and cedars.
Ford, during that commission meeting, said, “So I think this community really has an obligation at this stage of our evolution in this, to take it to another level on truly old-growth trees.”
For Richards, it’s not just about the old-growth trees.
“I mean, they’re amazing and incredible and they’re unique to the city, but it’s also just about how, generally, a large part of the community is just tired of seeing nonstop unchecked development,” Richards said. “I think it’s just one more little thing becomes one more little thing, becomes one more little thing, and next thing you know, we don’t have this beautiful, wonderful place anymore.”
‘It’s not just about old-growth trees’
Lea Anne Campbell also lives in the Sevilla neighborhood and remembers when the development permit was posted on Hickory Lane saying several trees would be affected and she started seeing trees ribboned off. She believes there are around 17 trees scheduled to be removed as the developer tries to maximize his profits by putting two houses on the lot.
“I got a little glimmer of hope thinking that maybe only one house would go there,” Campbell said. “And the way the lot is, the west side is a little bit elevated, so all those trees that are on that part will obviously come down and they’ll have to level the lot. But that’s where we’re at, and I keep thinking any minute they’re going to be coming with chainsaws.”
