Port Royal to put teeth into ordinance. Here’s how much it would cost to remove a single tree

Port Royal is sending developers a message in a proposed new ordinance: Save significant trees or pay — a lot.

The town is putting the final touches on a tough new tree ordinance that’s been in the works for seven months, since the potential loss of two landmark live oaks on 12th Street prompted a public outcry. A moratorium on tree removal permits has been in place since.

The new ordinance is on the Town Council’s agenda Thursday for a final vote. The moratorium will be lifted if it’s approved.

Included in the proposed ordinance is a fivefold increase in mitigation fees — fees developers can pay in lieu of preserving trees.

Under the proposal, mitigation fees would increase from $100 to $500 per inch around for landmark trees and $50 to $250 for specimens, Planning Director Noah Krepps says.

Krepps offered an example of how the change would translate into dollars: Under the current ordinance, if a 43-inch live oak were cut down, the mitigation fee would be $4,300. If the new tree ordinance passes, the mitigation fee would be $21,500.

For a housing development in which multiple landmark trees were proposed for removal, Krepps noted, developers could potentially face mitigation fees reaching into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“I want to make it burn,” Councilman Jerry Ashmore said of the fees and fines. “I want to hit ‘em where it hurts.”

Ashmore’s comments came Wednesday when council members discussed the changes at a workshop.

First and foremost, the ordinance encourages developers to retain trees, Krepps said. Barring that, it requires replanting. Then come the mitigation fees and fines.

“It’s now clear the push from the town is retaining the trees that are significant,” Krepps said.

The town began investigating a revised tree ordinance in July after dozens of residents turned out before the Town Council to protest a permit issued by the town to a housing developer to remove two large “landmark” trees. A petition called for the Town Council to reject the request.

At that time, under the current ordinance, Mayor Joe DeVito said Wednesday, “Our hands were tied.”

Eventually, the town, the developer and a resident who appealed the issuance of the permit, reached an agreement that called for saving the larger of the two trees and removal of the smaller tree, which by that time had already been severely trimmed.

Under the proposed new ordinance, the Town Council would be the final authority on whether permits are issued to remove landmark trees.

Fines for illegally removing a landmark trees, without the Town Council’s OK, would be $1,000 an inch, on top of providing tree replacements and the loss of development rights for 2-5 years.

Councilman Kevin Phillips predicted that developers would pass along the added cost for removing trees to homebuyers — and at a time when the town needs more affordable housing.

As it stands now, Council Member Darryl Owens said, the attitude of developers seems to be that they would prefer to pay the fines rather than preserve the trees.

“We want them to think about it,” Owens said, “what the penalty will be, if I’m just going to go ahead and pay the fine.”

The hope is that the increase in fees and fines will be a significant deterrent to anybody contemplating the removal of significant trees, including illegally, Town Manager Van Willis said.

But the town also needs to be practical, said Willis, noting that a tree likely was removed on every single property in the county where a building was constructed.

The new ordinance also makes it less burdensome for homeowners looking to prune trees or clear brush. Council members had worried that making the ordinance stronger for developers would inadvertently make it more difficult for homeowners looking to do routine yard work.