New Port Richey sits on the Gulf side of Pasco County, about 30 miles northwest of greater Tampa, with the Pithlachascotee River winding through the middle of town. If you are looking for tree service in New Port Richey, two questions shape almost every job here: is the lot inside the city, and how close is it to the water.
Tree Service Tampa FL is not a tree company and sends nobody out. It is a free phone line. Call (689) 407-5379, tell the automated assistant you are in New Port Richey and what the tree is doing, and your call is transferred to an independent, locally owned tree service company that works in west Pasco. That company visits, sets its own price and is paid by you directly.
A river town with two names nearby
Settlement here started at the river mouth. Aaron M. Richey arrived in 1883 and ran a post office from his home the following year, and that older community became Port Richey. A few miles upriver, the land around Orange Lake was already being called New Port Richey by 1914, and a post office under that name in 1915 made it official. The city incorporated in 1924 and counted 16,728 residents in the 2020 census.
Port Richey, incorporated in 1925, is still its own small city just to the north. The Census Bureau also tracks a separate New Port Richey East area outside the city. Plenty of homes carry a New Port Richey mailing address without being inside the city at all, and that matters the moment a tree needs to come down.
Inside the city or out in the county
The permit office depends on the jurisdiction, not the ZIP code on your mail.
City of New Port Richey
Tree removal and relocation fall under City Code Section 8.02.00, Tree Protection, handled by the Community Development Department at City Hall, 5919 Main Street, 727-853-1047. The city's application says removed trees must be compensated for by replacing them inch for inch, submitting a betterment plan, or paying into the city tree fund. Some species are exempt; ask before assuming yours is.
Unincorporated Pasco County
Outside the city line, Pasco County's Land Development Code Section 802 applies. A permit is needed for trees 5 inches or more in diameter, with exceptions; on single-family lots, palms, non-native trees and pines other than longleaf pine are exempt under the county's residential checklist.
On any single-family home, in the city or the county, Florida Statute 163.045 stops a local government from requiring a permit, fee or replanting when the owner has documentation from an ISA certified arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect showing the tree poses an unacceptable risk to people or property. The New Port Richey tree removal page walks through fees, replacement trees and paperwork step by step.
When the Gulf comes up the streets
Neither of the 2024 hurricanes had to land here to flood New Port Richey. Hurricane Helene passed well offshore in the Gulf, yet the National Weather Service reported the New Port Richey gauge peaking at 5.04 feet above mean higher high water on the evening of September 26, 2024, before the gauge quit reporting. ABC Action News reported that the floodwaters destroyed homes and businesses in the city.
Two weeks after Helene, Hurricane Milton made landfall south of Tampa Bay. In west Pasco, the next morning brought water rescues as the Anclote River flooded into New Port Richey. For tree owners, the lesson of 2024 is that flooding and wind can arrive in the same few weeks. A tree that leans more than it did before a storm, or shows cracked soil or lifted roots on one side, deserves a professional look before the next season.
Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. The quieter months are the time to have a doubtful oak over the roof or a pine beside the driveway assessed, while tree companies are not working through a storm backlog.
What grows in New Port Richey yards
Older streets near downtown and the river tend to carry big oaks and palms, while newer lots often have pines and younger shade trees. UF/IFAS surveys after Florida hurricanes give a useful way to rank them. Live oak and sand live oak came through storms far better than laurel oak and turkey oak. Cabbage palms, the sabal palm that is Florida's state tree, were among the most wind-firm trees surveyed, and they outlasted queen palms and Washingtonia palms.
- Laurel oakOften hollow from internal rot after about 50 years, and weaker in hurricanes
- Cabbage palmAmong the most likely trees to stay standing after a hurricane
- Live oakHolds up well when pruned with one strong central leader while young
Palms need restraint more than cutting. UF/IFAS advises removing only fronds that are completely brown and leaving green fronds above the horizontal. A palm stripped to a few fronds, the so-called hurricane cut, is more likely to lose its crown in wind, not less. If a quote for your palms includes heavy green frond removal, ask why.
Power lines on the west side of Pasco
Pasco County has three electric providers. The Pasco Economic Development Council lists Duke Energy as the provider mainly in southwest Pasco, with Tampa Electric and Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative in other parts of the county. Your bill tells you which one owns the line crossing your yard.
If a tree is on a wire
- Assume the wire is live and keep children, pets and neighbors away.
- Call 911 if a line is down or someone is hurt.
- Report it to Duke Energy at 800.228.8485, or text OUT to 57801.
- Take photos from a distance for your insurance claim.
Do not
- Touch a branch, fence, car or puddle that a wire is resting on.
- Try to pull limbs off a line with a rope or pole.
- Let anyone cut wood still tangled in wires before the utility clears it.
- Walk through floodwater where a line may be down.
Duke Energy says it prunes and removes trees along its lines, and asks customers to call right away when a tree is in contact with a power line. Its FAQ also says storm debris on your property is the homeowner's to clear, while its own crews clean up after their routine maintenance work.
Yard debris and storm cleanup in the city
Inside city limits, New Port Richey contracts with a single company for garbage, yard debris and recycling, and its trash services page posts the yard debris schedule. Under the city's solid waste rules, yard waste means brush and plant debris and goes out at your regular collection spot on the regular schedule.
After a hurricane the city runs its own cleanup. Following Helene it reported collecting about 7,000 cubic yards of household storm debris, with contractors making two passes through assigned zones. After Milton, Public Works crews worked through the city section by section to pick up vegetative debris and posted a map showing where crews were working. Storm pickups end on a set date, so watch the city's notices.
A full tree removal produces more wood than a weekly pickup is meant for. Ask the company you hire whether chipping, hauling and stump grinding are in the price. The tree removal cost guide lists published price ranges and what changes them.
Hiring well in west Pasco
- Pin down the jurisdictionCity of New Port Richey, Port Richey or unincorporated Pasco: each has different rules, and the company should know which one it is working under.
- Ask about the tree, not just the priceA laurel oak with a hollow trunk and a healthy live oak are different jobs and different risks.
- Keep the utility in the loopWork near a Duke Energy line should be coordinated with Duke, not done around it.
- Put cleanup on paperWood, brush, stump and any replacement trees the city requires should each appear on the quote.
Florida does not issue a state license for tree trimming or removal, so the checks are yours to make.
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 whether your tree is a removal or a trim? Call and describe it. The New Port Richey area company you reach looks at it and gives its own price before any work.
How a call from New Port Richey 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.