‘Big victory’: Settlement reached over removal of 2 landmark live oak trees in Port Royal
A dispute over cutting down two iconic live oak trees in downtown Port Royal has been settled, and now the town is developing new tree removal rules using guidance from Hilton Head.
Under the agreement, the smaller of two trees at the center of the disagreement involving a resident, the town, a contractor and the property owner will be cut down while the larger live oak will be saved.
Emily Nellermoe, an attorney with the South Carolina Environmental Law Project, said Friday her client, Elizabeth Bergmann, who fought to save the trees, and the other parties had reached a final settlement agreement ending the legal battle.
Under that agreement, the contractor and property owner agreed to pursue an alternative site design in a housing development that will save the larger tree, which has a trunk circumference of 60 inches. That tree will undergo some limb removal to accommodate the houses, Nellermoe said, but developers agreed to follow guidelines in a report by an arborist.
In exchange, Nellermoe said, Bergmann withdrew her appeal, meaning the town lifted a stop-work order.
However, a second tree, this one 42 inches around, will be removed, possibly on Friday. The health of that tree already had been severely impacted by previous pruning that had occurred in preparation for its removal before Bergmann’s appeal prompted the stop work order in August, Nellermoe said.
Developers agreed to donate a portion of the tree to the town, which will be repurposed into a piece of public art such as a bench and be displayed in a public space.
In July, residents petitioned the town to block Coastal Homes and Sunrooms (CHS) from cutting down the two landmark-designated trees to make way for five homes on 12th street, just off Paris Avenue. The property is owned by NCN Property Solutions, a limited liability corporation with a registered agent in Bluffton.
Then in August, most of the limbs of the 42-inch oak were cut off, and a notch was cut at the base, in preparation for its removal.
That prompted Bergmann to file an appeal of the town’s OK of the tree removal, and the town issued a stop work order. Bergmann argued the removal broke the rules of the town’s tree ordinance.
Nellermoe, Bergman’s attorney, told the Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet on Friday, that she was grateful the parties were able to come to the table and work out a resolution to save the larger tree.
“We hate to see both trees cut down but the fact that the property owner and the contractor were willing to work with us to save the second tree, we think was a big victory not only for the tree itself but for the town,” Nellermoe said. “And we’re extremely grateful to the town for their willingness to facilitate the discussions and assist in all of this.”
‘We’ve had enough of that’
The agreement was reached with input from two arborists, Town Manager Van Willis said, “so there is a plan in place to protect the larger landmark tree and accommodate the owners through a revision of construction plans.”
The town has convened a task force to evaluate its tree ordinance to “toughen it up,” in the words of Planning Director Noah Krepps, in the wake of the dispute.
Part of the discussion is requirements needed in order to prune and remove a tree. The task force, Krepps said, is relying heavily on Hilton Head Island’s ordinance.
“They are very stringent,” Krepps said of Hilton Head, “and if you visit the island you can see the success that they had.”
Noting that “Hilton Head has been developed pretty well,” Councilman Kevin Phillips said, relying on its ordinance is a good idea.
The task force, Krepps said, is weighted with environmental activists and does not include developers “for a reason,” Krepps said. “We’ve had enough of that.”
The controversy over the removal of the trees on 12th street was the second over trees in Port Royal in recent months. Residents also rose up in objection to a plan by developer planning to build apartments on a secluded property at 2900 Oak View Drive off of Parris Island Gateway overlooking Battery Creek, once known as Cherry Hill Plantation. It’s home to a 350-year-old live oak that’s the largest in Beaufort County. Under the tree is the grave of Mary M. Pope, who was enslaved.
Residents worry the intense development could kill the tree and damage the grave and possibly additional graves that may be in the area but unmarked. The town denied a request by the developer for a height variance and the developer hasn’t returned with a revised plan. In the meantime, residents are leading efforts to use public land conservation funding to save the land and three and grave site.
“The situation in Port Royal is a microcosm of a bigger issue — that leadership needs to enact stronger ordinances and uphold the rights of the entire Town collectively,” Bergmann said in a news release. “And that includes the trees and all the natural resources which sustain us.”
