Town of Hilton Head cracking down on tree cutters

Editor's Note: After this story published, Cambridge Building challenged its improper tree removal citation in Hilton Head Municipal Court. A judge dismissed the ticket based on a lack of evidence from the town of Hilton Head, town attorney Brian Hulbert said May 25, 2017.

The town of Hilton Head is investigating two more businesses for allegedly removing healthy trees without a permit in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.

The new investigations come on the heels of four businesses that have already been fined. And mitigation efforts by offending companies are underway, sending a message to residents — whether they like it or not — that the island’s abundance of trees is here to stay.

The town temporarily lifted permit requirements for tree removal after the storm, and some businesses took advantage of the lax regulation period to remove not only fallen and diseased trees, but healthy ones.

The town issued one citation to Cambridge Building and two to Coastal States Bank, said town attorney Brian Hulbert.

Frank Guidobono, owner of Cambridge Building, said he disagreed with the town’s citation.

“The only trees we removed were damaged,” he said. “(But) we plan to comply with the requirements. We’ll be planting more trees than they require.”

Because the investigations are ongoing, Hulbert declined to share details, including which of the two Coastal States Bank locations on the island is under investigation.

Each citation carries a fine of up to $1,092.

Meanwhile, The Omni Resort remains under scrutiny as town investigators distinguish which, if any, of the Omni’s approximately 100 fresh stumps were healthy trees, Hulbert said. The investigation began in mid-November.

“We didn’t expect it to take this long,” Hulbert said. “It should be finalized in the next couple of weeks.”

Representatives of The Omni did not return two calls seeking comment.

When contacted by The Island Packet on Nov. 18, Warren Woodard, the resort’s director of sales and marketing, said he was unaware of the town’s investigation. He also said he did not know how many storm-damaged trees the company’s contractor, Bartlett Tree Experts, removed and that he had no knowledge of any improper removal.

However, Bartlett has already paid a $10,000 fine for 10 citations, Hulbert said. The company also contributed $10,000 to the town’s tree planting fund.

“What happened in the middle of the chaos was we were removing trees on one property that were requested to be removed,” said Steven Johnston, Bartlett’s vice president of the Southeast division. “We didn’t realize the moratorium on needing a permit to remove trees had ended.”

Town investigators completed four other business investigations last year. While Hulbert said there are no records showing the exact number of healthy trees removed by each business, mitigation to make up for those removals is underway.

The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort, which was issued two citations, paid $30,000 in mitigation. Resort representatives did not return two calls for comment Monday and Tuesday.

The Beach House Holiday Inn Resort received one citation for what the resort’s general manager chalked up to a mistake by its tree contractor.

“We had several palm trees that our tree guy thought were diseased,” general manager Jeff Elseser said Monday. “We’re mitigating with six live oaks.”

Alliance Roofing and Premier Roofing were each issued a citation.

Premier Roofing owner Derek Holland told The Island Packet in November that the town’s investigative process, which relies on aerial photographs taken shortly after the storm, can be misleading. He said he planned to contest the violation with photographic evidence, but Hulbert said he had no record of a contention. Holland did not return two phone calls seeking comment Monday and Tuesday.

Alliance did not return a call seeking comment Monday.

This story was originally published January 24, 2017 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Town of Hilton Head cracking down on tree cutters."