Hilton Head neighbors worry loud mulching company will continue to operate

Hilton Head Island property owners fear they could be listening to the grind of a tree chipper for years to come after the owners of ArborNature recently received a three-month appeal extension from the town.

“They waited until the last day to file the appeal and now they are asking for an extension,”said Ric Fisher, a landlord who rents out office warehouse space near ArborNature. “They could appeal to the district court next and the entire time they can keep logging. This could go on for years. They know what they are doing and they know how to get around it.”

ArborNature has been operating as a landscaping business on Leg O’Mutton Road for more than a decade. In recent years, neighbors have complained that the use of the property has switched from landscaping to chipping.

Hilton Head Town officials also determined on May 13 that the use of the property had changed, which was a violation of the town’s Land Management Ordinance.

But an appeal, filed by ArborNature, argues the company’s owners have repeatedly received permission from the town to conduct chipping.

Fisher said the grinding of the mulching machinery shakes buildings and is a major disturbance for residents.

It has become such a nuisance that the Indigo Run Community Owners Association, along with Fisher’s company, filed a motion June 2, asking the court to make the chipping stop while the appeal process is ongoing.

Fisher said tenants renting office warehouse space he owns are threatening to vacate the property because of the noise. Each of the tenants pay $6,000 a month, Fisher said.

“They are claiming a breach of contract due to the logging,” Fisher said. “In all commercial real estate you are supposed to be able to enjoy your property without disturbance. They are rightfully complaining that it is not quiet and enjoyable.”

ArborNature, owned by Adam Congrove, was set to appeal the town’s decision to the Town’s Board of Zoning Appeals on Monday, according to Brian Hulbert, the town’s attorney. But the board’s chairman approved a request by the appellant to postpone the appeal process for up to three months, he said.

Under state law, Congrove can continue operating his business up to the appeal hearing, Hulbert said.

Chet Williams, ArborNature’s attorney, filed the appeal on May 27.

“We are required to appeal ... in order to protect ArborNature’s right to continue operating its business as permitted in the past and is currently permitted by the town,” Williams said in a written statement Friday.

The appeal argues that as recently as April, town officials said chipping was an appropriate use of the property. It goes on to state that town staff reversed course as a result of “public pressure brought to bear on the Town Council and the Town Staff.”

A new date for the appeal has not been set.

This story was originally published June 24, 2016 at 5:43 PM with the headline "Hilton Head neighbors worry loud mulching company will continue to operate."