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- Land Clearing Services in Fleming Island
- Lot Clearing for New Homes in Fleming Island and Orange Park
- Brush Clearing and Forestry Mulching Near Fleming Island
- How Much Does Land Clearing Cost in Fleming Island?
- Permits, Gopher Tortoises and Wetlands Before You Clear in Fleming Island
- Serving Fleming Island ZIP Code 32003 and Nearby Orange Park, Green Cove Springs, Middleburg and Lakeside
- Fleming Island Land Clearing FAQs
Land Clearing Services in Fleming Island
On a teardown, the service list runs in this order: brush clearing and brush removal of the vine and camphor, selective clearing with the heritage oaks kept, stump grinding where the old trees came out, then lot clearing to a pad and site preparation with grading. Forestry mulching covers the few pine lots left in the Fleming Island area. Whitfield Clearing & Grading provides land clearing and site work for residential and commercial properties, one clearing service, one price list. House demolition, concrete, wells, septic and utility excavation are other trades; on a teardown you will need the first one before me.
Lot Clearing for New Homes in Fleming Island and Orange Park
Fleming Island is a census-designated place with no permit count of its own, so the Clay County unincorporated figure is the proxy: 1,108 single-family permits in 2025 by the Census Building Permits Survey, down 33 percent. The ones here sit on teardown lots under oaks the county calls heritage trees.
Residential land clearing on a teardown: tag every oak over 8 inches DBH and every heritage live oak, pull the grape vine off the limbs by hand, clear understory by hand inside the drip lines and by machine past them, grind the old stumps, grub only under the pad. Then the pad: rough grade, 12 inches of compacted fill above crown of road, three roller passes, quoted per pad. On a lot off CR 220 last winter the old slab footprint had no compaction under it; we rebuilt the pad from the hardpan up and proof-rolled it.
Brush Clearing and Forestry Mulching Near Fleming Island
Forestry mulching is a land clearing method that uses specialized equipment to grind trees, brush and vegetation into mulch, and near Fleming Island it does two jobs: the last pine lots on CR 220 and the vine on the teardowns. Palmetto, gallberry, wax myrtle, grape vine and camphor are mulched in place as a 3 to 4 inch layer.
Palmetto signed a longer lease on that lot than the pine did, which is why a rotary cutter alone fails: it takes the fans and leaves the mat. The mulcher head runs below grade and takes the mat. Camphor and Chinese privet get a cut-stump treatment within minutes of the cut or they are back by spring. In areas with dense palmetto the crew runs about an acre a day; June to September adds a day on wet flatwoods. Overgrown land on a teardown is vine over everything; a lot left to overgrow between owners clears in a day. We remove brush to the landscape beds and stop.
How Much Does Land Clearing Cost in Fleming Island?
A quarter-acre infill lot is $1,900 flat. A half-acre lot is $2,700, one day of skid steer mulching, transport included. Oak hammock kept selective runs $2,000 to 3,200 an acre, and that is the Fleming Island number on most teardowns. Palmetto flatwoods on CR 220 run $1,400 to 2,300; full clearing to dirt with stumps $2,800 to 5,000; large acreage clearing with the 300-hp mulcher $4,100 a day plus transport. The price depends on the size of the lot and the oak count, so land clearing costs are set on the walk-through.
Before the number is final: one wet-season day from June to September on flatwoods, and a gopher tortoise survey at $400 to 900 by a licensed agent if the lot is sandy.
The comparable I use for density pricing is a 6-acre scrub tract at Keystone Heights, sandhill on Trail Ridge, two days, $7,200: different ground, same pricing by the acre and the day. No surprises on the invoice. Pick a walk-through slot on the calendar or call (904) 406-7990. I confirm by text the same evening.
Permits, Gopher Tortoises and Wetlands Before You Clear in Fleming Island
The Clay County Land Development Code requires a land clearing permit for clearing over 1 acre or before a building permit, protects trees 8 inches DBH and up, and gives heritage live oaks their own rule with mitigation if one comes down. On a teardown that permit comes before the demolition permit closes out.
SJRWMD runs the Environmental Resource Permit. Clearing alone does not trigger it; fill or a drainage change does. The CR 220 wetlands, the Black Creek bridge marsh and the Doctors Lake shore need a Chapter 62-340 delineation first, and the wet part stays out of the footprint or waits on the permit.
FWC gopher tortoise rules cover the sandy pine lots: survey within 90 days, no work within 25 feet of a burrow, relocation permit before clearing. Sunshine 811 marks the gas pipeline before a stump comes out. A Florida Forest Service burn authorization is not realistic on a platted lot, so the material is mulched or hauled at $650 to 1,200 per 10-yard load.
Serving Fleming Island ZIP Code 32003 and Nearby Orange Park, Green Cove Springs, Middleburg and Lakeside
ZIP 32003 covers Fleming Island, FL and the surrounding area from the Doctors Lake bridge to Black Creek. Orange Park and Lakeside are 10 minutes north on US 17, Green Cove Springs 10 minutes south, Middleburg 25 minutes west. We are a company serving property owners with land clearing services across Northeast Florida, services throughout the county, the Jacksonville area and the Jacksonville metro from one yard. Land clearing Fleming Island owners ask for is mostly a teardown lot taken to a pad with the oaks still standing.
Fleming Island Land Clearing FAQs
Can you clear a teardown lot without losing the heritage oaks?
Yes, and the county requires it. Heritage live oaks stay under the Clay County code; the crew tags them, clears understory by hand inside the drip line and by machine outside it. Land clearing projects under oak run $2,000 to 3,200 an acre, and the oaks carry the lot value.
Can you remove large trees and grind the stumps?
Yes, with the permit. Tree removal over 8 inches DBH needs the county permit, and laurel oaks with base rot are the ones that usually qualify. We grind the stump at $4.25 per inch of diameter, $160 minimum, or by the day on lots with 10 or more. Sunshine 811 marks the lines first.
Do you provide commercial clearing in Fleming Island?
Yes. Commercial land clearing services cover outparcels on US 17 and CR 220, commercial sites and any commercial development that needs site clearing and land improvement before civil work. Commercial properties in Fleming Island follow the county tree rules, so commercial clearing starts with the tree survey and a site visit.
What does the land clearing process look like on every project?
Walk the property, tag, clear, pad, grade check. The oak tags and the burrow check go in on the walk-through; the crew clears depending on site conditions, then builds the pad and proof-rolls it. The written price comes before the machine; the frequently asked questions get answered on the lot.
Why hire a land clearing company instead of a tree service?
Because a tree service leaves the stumps, the vine and the grade. What a land clearing company adds, with professional clearing, is the pad: property clearing, stump grinding, compaction, site prep. To clear land once and make your property slab-ready, the way to clear it is to grade, on paper.
