Quarter-acre lots, one at a time
Much of Palm Bay is small lots on an old street grid, and they filled in unevenly. One street is all houses. The next has three wooded lots in a row. A Palm Bay job for a new house usually means one of those lots: clear it, haul off the debris, bring in fill, then build and compact the pad.
Plenty of these lots belong to people who live somewhere else. You don't have to be in Florida to get one ready. Call with the parcel ID and we can talk through what the lot needs.
Palm Bay's clearing permit
As of October 2026, Palm Bay's code says land clearing on a smaller residential lot needs a permit, and so does cutting a tree above a set trunk size (Palm Bay Code s. 175.014). The city's building office can tell you the thresholds for your lot. If the lot is being cleared for a house, the city expects the building permit to be under review already. In practice that means the builder and plans come first and the clearing second.
A separate grubbing permit covers underbrush taken out by hand, roto-chopping or mulching. It doesn't allow scraping or filling (s. 175.015), so a pad job needs the right permit behind it. Check with the city for your lot.
Scrub-jays and gopher tortoises
Parts of Palm Bay have bright white sand and low scrubby oaks, the habitat the Florida scrub-jay lives in. The bird is federally threatened (FWC), and the city runs a habitat conservation plan for lots in its habitat (City of Palm Bay). That plan doesn't cover gopher tortoises. Those go through FWC.
Sandy lots are also where tortoises dig. Work within 25 feet of a burrow that may be occupied needs an FWC permit, and the surveys and any relocation are done by an FWC Authorized Gopher Tortoise Agent (FWC). The before clearing day checklist walks through the order.
From cleared lot to finished pad
Once the trees and stumps are out of the pad area, we haul the debris away and bring in fill dirt. It goes down in layers, each one rolled tight, until the pad reaches the height on the builder's plans. Then we grade around it so rain runs away from where the slab will sit. The full sequence is in our guide to how a building pad gets built.
Good to know locally
Land clearing on smaller residential lots needs a city permit, and so does removing a tree above the code's size threshold.
Source: Palm Bay Code of Ordinances, Chapter 175 (ss. 175.014 and 175.015)
Palm Bay's grubbing permit covers underbrush removal by hand, roto-chopping or mulching, and does not authorize scraping or filling.
Source: Palm Bay Code of Ordinances, Chapter 175 (ss. 175.014 and 175.015)
Palm Bay's habitat conservation plan covers Florida scrub-jay lots. Gopher tortoise permits come from FWC.
Questions people ask
Can I clear my Palm Bay lot before I have a builder?
For a smaller lot being cleared for a house, Palm Bay expects the building permit to be under review first. Underbrush work may fall under a different permit. Ask the city before booking anything.
Is my lot in scrub-jay habitat?
The city publishes a list of parcels in occupied scrub-jay habitat (City of Palm Bay). Check it, and call the city before clearing a lot with white sand and scrub oak.
Do you build the pad too, or just clear?
Both. Clearing, debris haul-off, fill, compaction and final grade can all be one job. See building pads.
Last reviewed October 15, 2026. General information, not legal or professional advice. Check the linked sources for the current rules.