Update: Avenue of the Oaks property owner: No rules broken in tree cutting
Kathy Sasso fell in love with the idea of riding horses down the sandy, oak-lined roads of Coffin Point, where she and her husband planned to retire.
But the Sassos are rethinking their future in the St. Helena Island community after becoming the center of a firestorm related to property they cleared earlier this month.
Sasso denied accusations the owners cut oak trees along the iconic Avenue of the Oaks and said resulting threats and insults have led the couple to make plans to sell their property.
The controversy erupted last week after some Coffin Point residents began circulating pictures of what appeared to be a gap in the tree-lined dirt road. Some residents said the open space was the result of multiple live oaks being cut down this month without permission.
The photos were outdated and misleading, Sasso said.
Before buying the property, the couple researched local rules and covenants with a closing attorney and spent hours with Oliver's Bushhogging to develop a plan for clearing the property, Sasso said.
"This was our dream," Sasso said. "That dream has turned into a big pile of poop."
In response to concerns from area residents, a Beaufort County Land Trust representative and Beaufort County codes enforcement official met residents at the property last week and determined a dead water oak had been removed and that the tree isn't protected under the county's ordinance.
Sasso maintains -- protected species or not -- that no oak trees were removed during clearing work and that a small stump was all that was there when the land was purchased.
She said the lot was only cleared of weeds and underbrush.
"We not only understood trimming or cutting Live Oaks was not permitted but wanted to accentuate these trees on our property by removing smaller 'scrub' trees that were close by, robbing nutrients," Sasso wrote in a Facebook post this past weekend. "We also specified the importance of the land remaining interspersed with pines, magnolias, and palms, as we had no intention to have pastureland but rather wanted a partially shaded, partially sunny result for our horses to live on since they are fed hay."
The Sassos, Charlotte natives, once bred ponies and have five horses they planned to house on the three acres along Avenue of the Oaks and Mcteer Drive in Coffin Point. They are almost finished rebuilding a home on the property, Sasso said.
Coffin Point resident Sandy Schepis was among those who posted photos of the cleared lot to Facebook last week. Schepis said she retracted her initial post and removed the photos after being told there was no wrongdoing.
She said she had not heard of any of the threatening or insulting actions Sasso alleged and wasn't involved.
Several photos and multiple debates also sprouted in a Beaufort Facebook group. The posts were later removed.
In her post this past weekend, Sasso didn't mention neighbors by name and said she doesn't want to further feed the controversy. She said Monday she has since received several nice phone calls.
The issue led Open Land Trust officials to question their stake in the Avenue of the Oaks.
The Land Trust, which is believed to own 10 feet on either side of Avenue of the Oaks, doesn't maintain an inventory of the trees, Land Trust director Cindy Baysden said.
The organization bought the property for less than $1,000 in a tax sale several years ago, after a nonprofit group formed by area homeowners to protect the trees failed to pay the taxes, Baysden said. The Land Trust is having the property surveyed this week to determine what exactly the organization owns.
Even if the Land Trust does own the stretch of trees, Baysden said she isn't certain what the nonprofit group's recourse would be for someone taking one down. Tree-cutting is under the authority of the county, she noted.
"We're just trying to clear up exactly what we own out there and then we'll take it from there," Baysden said. "But the neighborhood needs to come together."
Follow reporter Stephen Fastenau on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.
Related content:
- Clear-cut land a shock to some Lady's Island residents, Jan. 17, 2016
- St. Helena's Coffin Point among areas hammered by high water, resident says, Oct. 8, 2015
This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 9:28 AM with the headline "Update: Avenue of the Oaks property owner: No rules broken in tree cutting."