The Town's tree ordinance revision was finalized Thursday.
The definition of "Grand Tree" in the Town is now 24 inches DBA (Diameter at Breast Height.) This is a return to the size enforced in the Town before 2013. The 24 inch definition applied in the area of the Town's jurisdiction for many years. It is consistent with the definition that applies to our neighbors in unincorporated Charleston County and in the City of Charleston here on James Island.
If you are a homeowner and a tree is in your own yard, and it is less than two feet wide at four feet up, then it is your decision whether to keep it or remove it. If the tree is a sweet gum (gumball tree,) pine tree, Bradford Pear, or Mimosa, you can still make the decision even if it is larger than 24 inches. Bradford Pears and Mimosas are the only alien and invasive trees that frequently grow to more than 24 inches on James Island, but the same rule applies to all the others, such as Chinese Tallow (popcorn trees) which, unfortunately, are common here.
If there is a tree in your yard that is greater than 24 inches DBA, then you can only cut it down (or have it cut down) with a permit. You need to call Town Hall. If it is sick or dying or else a danger to person or property (usually this is root damage to a foundation,) the Planning Director will investigate and can provide a permit for $25. If the problem is not obvious, the Planning Director might require an arborist report too, which will cost about $100.
If you want to remove any other tree from your yard that is more than 24 inches DBA, then you still need a permit, but it must be approved by the Town's Board of Zoning Appeals. You need to call Town Hall. Modifying the landscape in your yard to reduce crowding of trees, to replace existing trees with different trees (say a water oak with a live oak,) to improve the view, or to reduce shade to allow grass, flowers, or shrubbery to flourish are all examples of reasons that will only be allowed with BZA approval. The fee to appear before the BZA is $250 for a single tree with an additional $50 for each additional tree. This helps pay for the advertising we must do. This fee is paid even if the BZA rejects the request. Your neighbors might well show up to the BZA meeting insisting that you leave your tree be.
If the request is approved by the BZA, mitigation is required. This means you must replace the trees that are removed. The Planning Director will help develop a plan, which could be planting new trees in your own yard, planting trees somewhere else, perhaps in a Town Park, or else paying money to the Town's tree fund which the Town can use for planting trees as it determines in the future. The plan must be approved by the BZA. The mitigation is "inch for inch" and so for a relatively small grand tree it will run about $1,000.
The penalties for failing to follow these procedures are very serious. If you cut down a tree in your own yard that would require approval by the BZA without a permit, then you pay $1000 per tree plus mitigation which is 3 times inch for inch. For a small grand tree, this would be $4,000. Larger live oaks can run closer to $10,000 or even more. Don't do it!
We have had unscrupulous tree companies tell homeowners that the permit has been taken care of. Don't believe it. When a professional firm illegally takes down a tree, the Town goes after them and makes them pay a fine and mitigation. But that doesn't relieve the homeowner of responsibility for illegal removal of trees. You will be held responsible too. Worse, the unscrupulous tree company will be no where to be found, taking off with what you paid them and with you owing major fines and mitigation.
If you want to take down a tree and you are unsure about these rules--call Town Hall. We will be glad to help.
If you are removing trees for new construction, the rules can be more restrictive depending on the proposed use. Call Town Hall. You will almost certainly need a zoning permit and building permit anyway. For most uses, trees with DBA over 8 inches are protected. For a heavily-wooded parcel, some may be removed, but many must remain. For all uses other than single family residential, any protected tree that must remain on the property can only be removed with a permit. The rules for removing grand trees for new construction are the same as those in a homeowner's yard.
Staff is currently reviewing a proposal to apply the Town's protected tree rules to the development of new major residential subdivisions. These would be subdivisions with more than four single family detached residences. While I don't anticipate many more of these in the area under Town jurisdiction, I think the rules that apply to multifamily, commercial, and institutional should also apply to any new major subdivisions. The rules would require that many of the trees greater than 8 inches DBA remain as the homes are built in the new major residential subdivision. This would not change the rules applying to grand trees.
I have also asked staff to develop a permitting process for work in the right of way in Town jurisdiction. Part of the reason is a response to problems with the work ATT did on right of ways in the Town over the last year. Like most James Islanders, I was very unhappy with the ATT contractors. However, a second reason is to protect street trees . While we are fortunate to have inherited many large and beautiful street trees, we also plant new ones. They start out being quite small and need protection when first planted and as they grow.
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