CHARLESTON COUNTY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING:

Proposed Main Road Corridor Segment A Tree Removal and Mitigation Public Hearing

Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 6:30 PM*

Charleston County Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed Main Road Corridor Segment A tree removal and mitigation at 6:30 p.m. on June 24, 2025, in Council Chambers (second floor of the Lonnie Hamilton, III, Public Services Building, located at: 4045 Bridge View Drive, North Charleston, SC  29405). The hearing will be livestreamed at: https://www.charlestoncounty.org/departments/county-council/cctv.php.  Public comments may be made in person or sent to the case email address (MainRdTrees@publicinput.com) by 5:00 PM on Thursday, June 19, 2025. Packet information and additional ways to provide comments can be found online at: https://engage.charlestoncounty.org/MainRdTrees. Contact the Public Works Department at (843) 202-7600 for additional information. *Note that this item will be included on the agenda for the Charleston County Council Planning and Public Works Committee meeting, which starts at 6:00 p.m. on June 24, 2025 in Council Chambers.

PROPOSED MAIN ROAD CORRIDOR SEGMENT A TREE REMOVAL AND MITIGATION

Request to approve Grand Live Oak Tree removal and Grand Tree mitigation.

• The majority of trees requested to be removed are located on Johns Island at the roundabout located at the intersection of Main Road, River Road and Chisolm Road.
• There are 30 Grand Trees impacted by the project;
  • 19 Grand Live Oak Trees require approval by County Council and mitigation;
  • Two of the Grand Trees are not Live Oaks but must be mitigated (pursuant to the ZLDR);
  • Nine are dead, diseased, or dying (to be approved for removal administratively), three of which are outside of the roundabout area.

Background Information:

On February 27, 2024, Charleston County Council approved amendments to the Zoning and Land Development Regulations Ordinance (ZLDR) to allow exemptions to the County’s Tree Preservation and Protection requirements for Charleston County Public Works (CCPW) initiated road and drainage projects (Ordinance #2281).  The amendments allow the following for CCPW initiated road and drainage projects (projects must be under review within the County’s Limited Site Plan Review Process and in an approvable state):

• Grand Trees other than Live Oaks not located on a Scenic Highway may be permitted administratively for removal;
• Protected Trees located on a Scenic Highway and Grand Live Oaks may be approved for approval by County Council. In such cases, Council shall hold a Public Hearing for the request prior to final approval; and
• Protected Trees located on a Scenic Highway and all Grand Trees must be mitigated pursuant to the ZLDR tree replacement requirements. To the greatest extent possible, the replacement trees must be planted in the same general area as the project to provide a replacement tree canopy. A tree mitigation plan shall be provided as part of the Council approval process.

The Main Road Corridor Segment A project is the first road project for which the removal and mitigation of Grand Trees are proposed since these ZLDR amendments were adopted. The project begins at Bees Ferry Road and continues along Main Road across US 17, ending near the intersection of Main Road and Old Pond Road. The project is in Limited Site Plan Review and is in an approvable state.

Arborist Evaluation:

A total of 33 Grand Trees have been identified in this portion of the Project Area;

• Three Grand Live Oaks were specifically identified to be saved in this portion of the Project Area (64” Live Oak, A Grade (Butcher Oak), 104” Live Oak, A Grade, 26” Live Oak, B Grade);
• 30 Grand Trees are impacted by the project;
  • 19 Grand Live Oak species require approval by County Council and mitigation;
  • Two of the Grand Trees are not Live Oaks but must be mitigated (pursuant to the ZLDR);
  • Nine are dead, diseased, or dying (to be approved for removal administratively).

Twenty-one (21) of these Grand Trees, equating to 799 inches, require mitigation.

Mitigation:

The intent is to plant as many replacement trees as possible in the Main Road/River Road/Chisolm Road roundabout area, subject to SCDOT approval. Other potential locations include the Main Road spur area, the intersection of US 17 and Main Road, and the Old Charleston Highway and US 17 intersection. Any mitigation inches not achieved through planting will be mitigated through payment into a new County Tree Fund established for planting replacement trees on Johns Island.

Staff Recommendation: 

Approve the removal of the Grand Live Oak Trees shown on the attached tree removal plan and approve the proposed Grand Tree mitigation with the condition that a Tree Preservation Plan for the following trees be approved by the County’s arborist and implemented:

• 64” Live Oak, A Grade (Butcher Oak);
• 104” Live Oak, A Grade; and
• 26” Live Oak, B Grade.

The Tree Preservation Plan, to be overseen by an ISA Certified Arborist, may include root pruning, plant growth regulator, soil analysis, mulch, and temporary irrigation.