Here in Coral Gables, they actually tell you you can't cut your own trees. Even trees you planted. If it's a native tree or a tree the government likes, it stays.
Unbelievable.
Here's what you do. You find an unscrupulous tree guy, and he takes a 3/8" bit and drills holes into your tree. Then he tells the city it was a boring beetle, and the tree has to come down. I don't know the specifics. Apparently for a tree, this is like AIDS.
I used to work for a tree guy back in the distant past, and I remember when he showed me this strategy. We went to a house where the owner wanted to get rid of a poinciana or something similar. The tree guy pointed to the hole and told me to check out the beetle damage. I asked him what kind of beetle did that. He said, "Sears Craftsman."
I don't know what the penalty for tree murder is. I'm sure they take it more seriously than they should. Public-minded people are always such morons and pests. It's never about common sense and promoting prosperity and freedom. It's always about telling other people what to do.
Read the whole thing at Hog On Ice
