Did a developer get a pass on tree fees? Here's the record.
The developer had already paid $149,660. The extra $227,400 was required. What actually happened.
Hi neighbor,
"Trying to give developers a pass on their fees for tree removal doesn't help pay the city bills either." You may have seen that line in a local group, or even on a sign. It's catchy. So Commissioner Victoria Bruce's campaign pulled the record to see what the vote was really about.
The short answer: no fee was waived. The developer had already paid $149,660 in tree fees in 2017 and 2018, under an agreement an earlier commission signed. The question was whether that payment covered the whole project.
Here's what happened:
- June 23, 2025: Victoria moved that the earlier payment covered the entire project, because that's how she read the contract. On the record she said, "I would not make a motion to say that we're going to waive a fee." It passed 3-2.
- The contract wasn't clear. Even the city attorney said there was "fuzziness," and warned that whoever loses in court pays the other side's lawyers.
- August 11, 2025: the commission reconsidered and voted 3-1 to require the extra $227,400. Victoria voted no. The developer had to put up the money.
And about those city bills: tree fees go into the Arbor Fund, which is separate from the general budget and from your utility bill. They were never going to pay city bills. When Victoria found that only about 13 percent of Arbor Fund spending was going to new trees, she brought forward Ordinance 2025-16. The commission adopted it on December 8, 2025, so tree money now goes to planting and caring for trees, not trucks.
Early voting starts Monday, Oct. 19, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. If you've seen that sign or that comment, the full fact check with every source is worth a share.
Paid for and approved by Victoria Bruce, for Winter Springs City Commissioner, District 2.
