People search for "Carrollwood tree" help because the trees here are old and big. Carrollwood began in 1959, when Matt Jetton planned it and Sun State Homes started building beside Lake Carroll; more than 900 houses went up there by 1970, and building spread west through the 1970s and 1980s. Homes from those first decades now sit among trees that have had sixty years to grow, and a big tree over a roof, a pool cage or a wire is a different job from a young one in the lawn.
Tree Service Tampa FL does none of that tree work itself. It is a free phone line. Call (689) 407-5379, tell the automated assistant you are in Carrollwood and what the tree is doing, and the call is transferred to an independent, locally owned tree service company that serves northwest Hillsborough. That company inspects the tree, quotes its own price and is paid by you.
Tampa address, county rules
The Carrollwood census area takes in two unincorporated communities, Carrollwood and Carrollwood Village, with 34,352 residents in 2020, about 9 miles north northwest of downtown Tampa. The census has called the area by other names over the years: Lake Carroll in 1970 and 1980, and Greater Carrollwood in 2000. Northdale, nearby, is a separate unincorporated community named for North Dale Mabry.
Mail goes to "Tampa," and that trips people up. Carrollwood is not inside the City of Tampa, so the city's 5 inch tree rule and its storm permit waivers do not reach it. After Hurricanes Helene and Milton, for example, the City of Tampa let owners remove hurricane-uprooted trees without a permit, but that memo applied only to property in the city. Carrollwood follows Hillsborough County.
Who has a say over a Carrollwood tree
Up to three groups can matter, in this order.
Your association
Carrollwood Village homes belong to phase associations. Their minutes say any exterior change needs Architectural Review Committee and board approval, and tree removal requests have gone to that committee. In Original Carrollwood around Lake Carroll, deed restrictions have a history of their own: a 2003 report found that about a third of its 929 homes had dropped out of the restrictions after owners declined to re-sign them. Check whether yours still applies.
Hillsborough County
On a lot with a home, a permit is generally needed for trees with a trunk 12 inches or more across at 4.5 feet up, and for any street tree. Permits go to trees that are unhealthy or causing damage that cannot be solved another way. Oaks of 34 inches or more in good condition may be Grand Oaks, with stricter pruning and removal rules.
Florida law
Section 163.045 of the Florida Statutes bars the county from requiring a permit, fee or replacement tree on a single-family lot when an ISA certified arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect documents that the tree poses an unacceptable risk. It does not override an association's own rules.
Lake Carroll and the common grounds
Lake Carroll covers roughly 210 acres and is a private lake. The community spaces around it have their own owners. A filing by the Carrollwood Recreation District lists White Sands Beach, Scotty Cooper Park, the recreation center and its tennis courts as private property of the Carrollwood Civic Association, while other common areas belong to Hillsborough County and are maintained by the district. If a tree on one of those grounds threatens your house or fence, the owner of that land is the one to contact, not a contractor you hire.
On lake lots, also tell the company about the shoreline. Equipment on a soft bank and a tree leaning toward the water both change how a removal is planned.
Aging oaks: what to look for
Carrollwood's first homes went up among oaks that are now very large. UF/IFAS research is the best guide to which ones matter most. Live oaks and sand live oaks held up best among oaks in Florida hurricane surveys, and cabbage palms were among the toughest trees of all. Laurel oaks did worse, and UF/IFAS notes they tend to decay from the inside starting around 50 years of age, with hollow trunks and large limbs common. In a neighborhood built from 1959 on, an older laurel oak near the house is worth having checked.
Worth a professional look
- Mushrooms or shelf fungus at the base or on the trunk.
- Cavities, cracks or seams running up the trunk.
- Dead limbs over the roof, the driveway or a pool cage.
- A new lean, or soil heaving on one side.
Pruning to avoid
- Topping, which UF/IFAS warns leads to weak regrowth.
- Lion-tailing, stripping inner branches and leaving tufts at the ends.
- So-called hurricane cuts that leave palms with a few green fronds.
- Big pruning cuts on a possible Grand Oak without the county's affidavit.
The tree trimming page explains good pruning, and tree removal covers what a takedown near a house involves.
Wires, outages and storm cleanup
Carrollwood is in Hillsborough County, where Tampa Electric is the main electric utility; your bill confirms it. After Milton, Tampa Electric reported close to 600,000 customers out at the peak, about 70 percent of its system, mostly because uprooted trees and debris brought down lines and poles. That is the strongest local argument for having limbs cleared away from your service drop before the season, which you arrange through Tampa Electric at 813-635-1500 about two weeks ahead.
- Downed line: call 911 if needed, keep 30 feet away and report it to Tampa Electric at 877-588-1010 or by texting OUT to 27079.
- Never pull a limb off a wire or touch anything it rests on.
- Photograph damage for your insurer from a safe place.
For everyday yard work, county trash service accepts up to 2 cubic yards of yard waste a week, with limbs under 4 feet long and 6 inches thick and nothing heavier than 50 pounds per container, within 6 feet of the curb. A hired company has to dispose of its own debris and pay the county's fees to do it, so ask whether the price includes hauling. After a declared storm, the county has run separate curbside debris collection with its own rules; follow county updates when it happens.
Getting a Carrollwood job lined up
- Ask your associationFind out whether your street is in Carrollwood Village or a deed-restricted part of Original Carrollwood, and what approval it needs.
- Measure the trunkWrap a tape around it 4.5 feet up and divide by 3.14 for the diameter. At 12 inches or more, expect a county permit unless the arborist route applies.
- Mention the oak typeLaurel oak or live oak, and whether it could be Grand Oak size.
- Compare full quotesCleanup, hauling and stump work listed separately. The cost guide shows published ranges; real quotes vary.
Check the company yourself. Florida has no statewide license for tree trimming or tree removal, so a truck and a business card prove very little. Ask the company for a certificate of general liability insurance sent by its insurance agent, proof of workers' compensation coverage, and the ISA certification number of its arborist. A company that sprays or treats trees for hire needs a pesticide license from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. You can confirm an ISA certification with the ISA's credential lookup (opens in a new tab).
Not sure what the tree needs? Call and describe it. The company you are put through to looks at the tree and tells you the price before any work starts.
How a Carrollwood call works
- Call any hourAn automated assistant answers (689) 407-5379 and asks what kind of tree work you need.
- Describe the jobGive your name, a callback number, your city or ZIP and what the tree is doing, including anything on a roof, a car or a line.
- Get put throughThe call goes to an independent, locally owned tree service company, which hears a short summary before it picks up.
- Deal with them directlyThat company looks at the tree, quotes, does the work and is paid by you. If it cannot answer, it gets your details to call back.
How this line works: Tree Service Tampa FL is a free phone line, not a tree service company. It does not trim, remove, quote or schedule tree work and holds no license or arborist certification. Calls are transferred to independent, locally owned tree service companies in the Tampa Bay area. Those companies may pay Tree Service Tampa FL a referral fee. You never pay the line. How it works.