What lot clearing costs in Fort Myers
Lot clearing runs anywhere from $2,500 to $7,000, depending on how many trees are on the lot. A lot of grass and light brush sits at the low end. A lot thick with pines, pepper trees and stumps sits at the high end.
Burrows, haul-off and tight access can also move the price. Our lot clearing cost guide explains what drives it. Those are Chop's own ranges. Your exact price comes after he sees the lot, and the quote is free: call or text (239) 560-2996.
Grubbing to a standard, not by eye
Clearing is the part people see. Grubbing is the part that decides whether a slab settles. The City of Fort Myers' own technical specification for site clearing on city projects calls for stumps and root mats to come out to at least 18 inches below the subgrade of sloped surfaces, with the holes backfilled with suitable material. It also says to strip topsoil from areas that will be excavated or graded before that work starts.
We treat a homesite the same way. Under the house, the driveway and the sewer or septic line, roots and stumps come out and the holes get clean fill, because anything organic left under a pad rots and leaves a soft spot. Outside the building area, where a tree is staying, the roots stay put.
Trees you keep, and the neighbors' trees
Fort Myers lots often have a big oak or a row of palms worth saving. That same city specification protects trees inside marked work limits: no wheeled or tracked equipment within the drip line, and no cutting roots 1 1/2 inches or larger without approval. We flag those trees with you on the walk, keep the machines outside the canopy and stack debris away from the trunks.
Trees on the next property belong to that owner, even when the limbs hang over your lot. We clear up to the line and talk with you before anything leaning over a fence comes down.
Wildlife and the 811 call
Gopher tortoises and burrowing owls are protected statewide, inside the city and out. FWC requires no permit when every tortoise burrow is avoided by 25 feet in all directions, and a permit before any work closer than that. Owl burrows need a 33-foot buffer during the February 15 to July 10 nesting season and 10 feet the rest of the year. Our owl and tortoise guide explains the check we run before the first cut.
Pulling stumps is digging, so Florida law requires a Sunshine 811 notice at least two full business days before we start. On an older street, water, gas and cable lines can run close to the front of the lot, and the locate marks show us where to dig by hand instead of grubbing with the machine.
Where the debris goes, and what is left
Lee County requires lot clearing debris from residential development to be properly disposed of or recycled, whatever the lot size, and the city's clearing specification sends cleared material away to an approved dump. We load it and truck it out. When we leave, the building area is clean soil, rough level and ready for the surveyor and for pad and fill work. What changes the price on a lot like this is covered in our lot clearing cost guide.
