Apply for Natural Resources Permit

You will need a natural resources permit for land alteration activities

Activities include removing vegetation from or changing the topography of the land by grubbing, tree removal, clearing, grading, filling or excavating, except for activities undertaken to maintain existing grounds. This permit is for activities that do not involve construction (single-family, subdivision or commercial construction.)

Permit fees

See the list of Natural Resources Fees.

Checklist

Site Plan - Example and details in the NRO information packet
Authorized Agent Consent Form - fillable (If applicable) | Authorized Agent Consent Form - printable (If applicable)
Certified Arborist Report (If applicable) - If using a certified arborist, a Certified Arborist Report is required
Management Plan (If applicable)
Wildlife/Plant Survey(If applicable)
Invasive plant species removal, disposal and maintenance plan (If applicable)

Things to consider

Once your application is complete, it will be processed and sent for review to various potential reviewers such as: natural resources, site engineering, stormwater, and possibly EPC.

Note: If the property has a wetland, other surface water, river, stream, pond, lake or other item that falls into the Environmental Protection Commission’s jurisdiction (EPC), they will be added to the review and the associated fee will be assessed. Prior to continuing the review, this fee must be paid.

How to

Apply online at HillsGovHub

All applicants must have a registered account

A comprehensive guide is available to provide a walkthrough of the application process

What's next

Staff will review the application packet for completeness within 3 business days
Each necessary reviewing agency will complete their review within 15 business days.
Once the reviews are complete, if there are any items the reviewers have left comments on that need to be fixed, the applicant will be able to upload new revised plans. This should only be completed once all initial reviews are complete. Once revised plans have been updated, it will take up to 10 working days before any new comments will be ready.
To review the results, login to your account. Possible Outcomes:

Approved – The permit expires in 2 years, but once you have finished the work shown on the plans, a NRO-Final inspection must be scheduled by the applicant. Natural Resources will inspect to ensure that the work in the field matches what was approved on the permit, and close out the permit.
Approved with Conditions – These may include the required replacement of a tree and/or payment to the Restoration Fund. The permit expires in 2 years, but once you have finished the work shown on the plans, a NRO-Final inspection must be scheduled by the applicant. Natural Resources will inspect to ensure that the work in the field matches what was approved on the permit, and close out the permit.
Disapproved - Corrections Required – the plans have items that need to be corrected. These issues can be found in the plan room. Each reviewer makes comments, and these must be addressed for all comments, until all reviewers have approved. New plans cannot be uploaded until all reviewers have completed the reviews for each review cycle.
Withdraw – Status applied when the wrong permit is applied for or the property is not within the jurisdiction of unincorporated Hillsborough County.

When the work is complete, a final inspection must be scheduled NRO-Final to close out the permit. No one needs to be on site for the inspection unless the property is not accessible due to fences, or dogs, or other factors that our inspector would need addressed to conduct inspection.
Any person affected by the decision to approve, approve with conditions, or deny a permit may request a Land Use Hearing Officer to review the decision

Resources

Get help

Department: Development Services
Email: naturalresources@hcfl.gov
Phone: (813) 272-5600