Overflow crowd pushes Hilton Head on tree grinding agreement. Here's what council did

A larger-than-usual crowd made up of residents upset over plans to move a tree grinding operation near their homes packed Hilton Head Island Town Hall on Tuesday. Some were so determined to be heard that they brought their own chairs.

While council took no formal vote, members did say they were willing to try to work out a new agreement with ArborNature, a tree service company. A court settlement between the company and the town currently in place, which would move the grinding operation from Leg O' Mutton Road to Summit Drive, has left some who live in the area livid.

But for some residents, the problem goes beyond the noise the operation would create.

"Does industrial solid waste processing even belong on the island?" asked Risa Prince, a Port Royal Plantation resident and co-founder of Citizens for Neighborhood Protection, a recently created group that opposes the agreement. "The proposed settlement agreement with ArborNature is a bad deal for the town and a horrible legacy for this council." The group says it now has 400 members.

The crowd Tuesday was so large that the town clerk announced before the meeting the room was "over capacity" and insisted that some audience members stand in the hallway. The maximum number of people permitted in the room is 160, according to a certificate on the wall. At least two individuals brought their own chairs for the standing room only meeting.

Facing that crowd, Town Council voted unanimously to move the ArborNature discussion to the top of the agenda.

Mayor David Bennett opened the discussion by reminding the crowd that the settlement agreement, which some residents contend was not transparent, was disclosed to the public as soon as council was able to do so. That disclosure, however, and the voted approving it, came only after council had discussed details in closed session.

The agreement was approved a year ago, in June 2017.

On April 17, Town Council was expected to take a first vote on executing a lease agreement, but that vote was postponed, and ultimately never taken, after residents requested more information at the meeting.

Bennett concluded his remarks Tuesday by suggesting council try to reach a new agreement with ArborNature.

"We won't put that up for a vote today, but I would suggest that we should be moving in that direction rather than moving forward with the proposed agreement that's on the table," Bennett said. "(We should) enter into additional discussions to try to reach a resolution with ArborNature that is satisfiable to them, the town and all of its citizens."

Council members Bill Harkins, John McCann and Kim Likins supported the mayor's suggestion.

"Clearly if this isn't the best solution, we need to keep working the problem," Likins said. "And we will do that until we find the right solution."

Council member Marc Grant said he supported moving ArborNature's operations to a light industrial zoning district, as the settlement agreement did. He also said many people living near the current operations haven't complained about noise.

"My problem is that I just want us to be consistent in terms of how we do things," he said. "We've been talking about this for so long, and we realize you all probably didn't know what was going on in executive session, but I hope you all think we are doing what is best for the town."

Town manager Steve Riley said no conversations with ArborNature about renegotiating the court-mandated settlement agreement had taken place as of Tuesday.

"This is an intent to go back and open this back up," Riley said. "There is, at this moment in time, no conversation with the other party."

Chester Williams, an attorney representing ArborNature, said he could not immediately comment Wednesday.

Noise complaints stemming from ArborNature's tree grinding operations began in 2015, Teri Lewis, the town's LMO official, said previously.

In May 2016, Lewis wrote a letter to ArborNature that said it was out of compliance with the LMO. ArborNature appealed that decision, but the town's Board of Zoning Appeals upheld Lewis' decision.

ArborNature then appealed to circuit court, which resulted in the settlement agreement.

According to town documents, the town agreed to lease a four-acre site on Summit Drive to ArborNature for one year for $1. ArborNature also has the option to purchase that property for $300,000. Currently, ArborNature's operations are on Leg O'Mutton Road.

Under the current agreement, grinding operations can only take place between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. ArborNature will also not be required to meet minimum tree regulations as long as the property is used for grinding.

This story was originally published June 6, 2018 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Overflow crowd pushes Hilton Head on tree grinding agreement. Here's what council did."