On this page
- Land Clearing Services in St. Johns
- Lot Clearing for New Homes in World Golf Village, the CR 210 Corridor and Julington Creek
- Brush Clearing and Forestry Mulching Near St. Johns
- How Much Does Land Clearing Cost in St. Johns?
- Permits, Gopher Tortoises and Wetlands Before You Clear in St. Johns
- Serving St. Johns ZIP Codes 32259, 32092 and 32095 and Nearby Julington Creek, Fruit Cove, Switzerland and Green Cove Springs
- St. Johns Land Clearing FAQs
Land Clearing Services in St. Johns
Whitfield Clearing & Grading provides land clearing on the custom lots the master-planned builders leave alone: forestry mulching by the day, lot clearing to a pad, brush clearing on a parcel that has sat since the last cycle, stump grinding and site preparation. One clearing service for all the site work, residential and commercial properties alike. Excavation for utilities, concrete, wells, septic and demolition are other people's trades, and I can name them.
Lot Clearing for New Homes in World Golf Village, the CR 210 Corridor and Julington Creek
St. Johns is a census-designated place, so the county's unincorporated count is the proxy: 3,471 single-family permits in 2025 by the Census Building Permits Survey, down 28 percent and still the most of any county in the metro. Most land clearing St. Johns builders order is a mulched envelope and a pad.
Residential land clearing on a CR 210 lot runs like this. Stake the envelope and the drive. Flag the oaks over 8 inches DBH. Mulch the palmetto and pine inside the lines. Grub under the pad only. Then rough grade and 12 inches of compacted fill above crown of road, three roller passes, quoted per pad. The CDD in SilverLeaf and RiverTown reviews the plan before the first flag goes in, and I build that week into the schedule. I have cleared flatwoods since 2016 and the pad is still the part of site prep I check twice.
Brush Clearing and Forestry Mulching Near St. Johns
Forestry mulching is a land clearing method that uses specialized equipment to grind trees, brush and vegetation into mulch, and on the CR 210 flatwoods it replaces the burn pile the county will not let you light. Palmetto, gallberry, wax myrtle and vine are mulched in place as a 3 to 4 inch layer. A rotary cutter leaves the palmetto root mat and the fans are back by fall; the mulcher head runs below grade and takes the mat.
Selective clearing is the default near St. Johns because the county protects the live oaks and the owners want them. In areas with dense palmetto the crew runs about an acre a day. June to September adds a day on wet flatwoods, where the hardpan holds water a foot down and a dozer would rut. Overgrown land that has been left to overgrow since the last build cycle is the normal starting point, and brush removal stops at the landscape beds: we remove brush, not plantings.
How Much Does Land Clearing Cost in St. Johns?
A half-acre lot is $2,700, one day of skid steer mulching, transport included from Middleburg. Land clearing costs on acreage: palmetto flatwoods $1,400 to 2,300 an acre, live oak hammock on the river bluff kept selective $2,000 to 3,200, full clearing to dirt with stumps $2,800 to 5,000. Large acreage clearing with the 300-hp mulcher is $4,100 a day plus transport. The number depends on the size of the tract and the density, so the walk-through comes first.
Before the price: 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 ground is sandy. Ask the St. Johns which way is downhill and it points at Jacksonville.
The nearest job I point to is Julington Creek, two acres of Irma debris in 2017: laurel oaks and pines down, 11 loads hauled, $9,350, the private side of what the county would not pick up. Same written number, 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 St. Johns
The St. Johns County Land Development Code, Article IV, protects trees 8 inches DBH and up and every specimen live oak, with mitigation if one comes down, and a county clearing permit is required before a building permit. The SilverLeaf, RiverTown and Shearwater CDDs review the clearing plan on top of that.
SJRWMD runs the Environmental Resource Permit. Clearing alone does not trigger it; fill or a drainage change does. Trout Creek and Sixmile Creek hold hardwood swamp that stays out of the footprint or waits on the permit, and a Chapter 62-340 delineation comes first on anything wet.
FWC gopher tortoise rules apply to the CR 210 scrub pockets: survey within 90 days, no work within 25 feet of a burrow, relocation permit before clearing. Bald eagle nests on the river bluff carry a 660-foot buffer. Sunshine 811 marks the gas pipeline and power before a stump comes out. A Florida Forest Service burn authorization on a platted lot is not a realistic way to clear anything, so the material is mulched or hauled.
Serving St. Johns ZIP Codes 32259, 32092 and 32095 and Nearby Julington Creek, Fruit Cove, Switzerland and Green Cove Springs
ZIP 32259 is Julington Creek and Fruit Cove; 32092 is World Golf Village and the CR 210 corridor; 32095 runs down US 1 toward the St. Augustine area. Green Cove Springs is across the Shands Bridge in Clay. We are a company serving property owners in St. Johns, FL and the surrounding area with land clearing services across Northeast Florida, services throughout the St. Johns area and the Jacksonville metro from one yard in Middleburg.
St. Johns Land Clearing FAQs
How is acreage clearing priced on a CR 210 tract?
By the acre, by density, with the day rate as the floor. Palmetto flatwoods run $1,400 to 2,300 an acre, live oak hammock $2,000 to 3,200 selective, full clearing to dirt $2,800 to 5,000. Land clearing projects over 10 acres move to the 300-hp mulcher at $4,100 a day plus transport.
Can you remove large trees and grind the stumps?
Yes. Tree removal over 8 inches DBH needs the county tree permit, and specimen live oaks normally stay. We cut what is permitted and grind the stump at $4.25 per inch of diameter, $160 minimum, or by the day on lots with 10 or more. Sunshine 811 locates lines before the first grind.
Do you provide commercial clearing in St. Johns?
Yes. Commercial land clearing services cover outparcels at CR 210 and I-95, commercial sites along SR 16 and any commercial development that needs site clearing and land improvement ahead of the civil contractor. Commercial properties in St. Johns carry the 6-inch DBH tree threshold, so commercial clearing starts with the tree survey and a site visit.
What does the land clearing process look like?
Walk the property, flag, machine, pad, grade check. The walk-through sets the envelope and the tortoise and oak flags. The crew mulches or grubs depending on site conditions, builds the pad, and we proof-roll it. On every project the written price is set before the machine leaves Middleburg.
Why hire a land clearing company for property clearing?
Because the mistakes are expensive. A land clearing company doing professional clearing knows which oaks are mitigation money, where the 25-foot burrow line runs and how much compaction a pad needs. To clear land once and make your property buildable, price it on paper first. The frequently asked questions above cover the rest.
