Port Royal OKs highest penalties in SC for tree removal. ‘We have a responsibility’

The town of Port Royal passed a new tree ordinance Wednesday that would impose the highest financial penalties in South Carolina for taking down “specimen” and “landmark” trees.

The 5-0 vote came despite concerns raised about the penalties’ impact on growth and affordable housing. But supporters said the increased fees will encourage developers to think twice about cutting down the town’s iconic live oaks and other species, and won’t harm business growth or affordable housing as much as some claimed.

Grant McClure of the Coastal Conservation League called the new ordinance and the fees a model for other communities to follow.

“The increased cost is really a way to encourage replanting where possible so developers don’t elect to simply pay the fine,” McClure said.

The proposed mitigation cost for removing a specimen tree would increase from $50 to $500 per inch and $100 to $750 per inch for a landmark tree.

The fees apply only to the removal of specimen and landmark trees, including live oaks and several other species.

That translates to an $8,000 mitigation fee to remove a single 16-inch specimen live oak (16 inches x $500/inch), and $22,500 to cut down a 30-inch landmark live oak (30 inches x $750/inch).

Specimen trees are valuable due to their age and potential to reach landmark size. Landmark trees are the most mature and valuable in the urban canopy. For a live oak tree, a specimen is a tree with a width or diameter of 12 inches. A live oak landmark is at least 24 inches in diameter.

Hank Hofford, a builder, told the council before the vote that the higher fees would be the end of two workforce housing projects he was planning to develop in town.

“The fee structure will take projects out of any level of feasibility,” Hofford said.

He compared the fees to a “taking” of property, and predicted the ordinance would be legally challenged — but not by him.

Ian Scott of the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce also predicted the higher fees will add to the cost of building workforce housing, which the region badly needs. The cost of housing remains the biggest challenge for employers in attracting and retaining staff, Scott said.

Scott asked that the ordinance be reviewed in six months, and council members agreed.

Seeking a balance

Talk of toughening up the ordinance first started in July when a property owner sparked an uproar among residents by preparing to remove two large live oak trees as part of a small infill development on 12th Street.

Developer Paul Trask, calling the reaction to that incident “knee-jerk,” said landmark trees need to be protected but that’s it’s sometimes necessary to remove specimen trees.

“I think there should be a balance struck,” Trask said.

But resident Elizabeth Bergmann said the proposed fines should be doubled. They can be reduced in the future, she said.

“A 200-year-old live oak cannot be mitigated,” Bergmann said.

Bergmann filed an appeal to the town’s decision to remove the 12th street trees, launching months of debate about strengthening the tree ordinance.

She disputed the harmful impacts some said the new ordinance would have on affordable housing and growth. The ordinance, she said, would bring “bring more discerning people to town.”

Council member Darryl Owens said he supports economic growth but the council is tasked with protecting the culture of Port Royal and attracting businesses that are the right fit for the town, which does not include big box stores or industrial manufacturing facilities.

“We have a responsibility to protect the character of Port Royal and also its citizens and rich history,” Owens said.

Affordable housing also is important, Owens said. “But I don’t see $1,500 a month as affordable” — and that’s the the price of affordable housing that’s being built in the area.

“Affordable to you may not be affordable to someone else,” Owens said.

Mayor Joe DeVito agreed to the ordinance to support the council but said he still believes the mitigation fees are too high. He said he’s concerned about the long-term ramifications on construction and property tax revenue. He called for the town to review building permits in six months and a year.

Highest fee in SC

South Carolina has firm private property rights, and no municipality would attempt to ban the removal of trees, said Town Manager Van Willis. Instead, communities use design parameters, waivers and mitigation and tree replacement costs that discourage tree removal.

The new Port Royal mitigation fees will be the highest in South Carolina, Willis said.

“I’m not aware of any municipality that will have mitigation costs remotely close to what we have,” he said.

The new Port Royal ordinance is a recognition of the high value residents place on the town’s iconic trees, Willis said. It encourages builders to accommodate trees, making them front and center when projects are designed, versus paying significant mitigation fees, Willis said.

To help lesson the impacts, the council agreed to exclude commercial developments that don’t have residences from the higher mitigation fees.

Another change from the original proposal is that Town Council would not hear requests from property owners to remove trees. That would fall to the Design Review Board.

Courtney Worrell, CEO of 303 Associates LLC, a real estate development and management company and also representing the Chamber’s Lowcountry Land Council, said it’s easy to paint all developers with a broad brush as seeking to spoil the land and clear cut trees.

“But that’s not the Lowcountry Land Council,” Worrell said.

She said she supported the adjustments the town made to the ordinance to help keep the door open to responsible commercial business.