Letter: Residents need relief from LMO

Before the 2017 hurricane season begins, Hilton Head Island Mayor David Bennett and members of the Town Council are urged to amend the Land Management Ordnance so that residents can protect their homes.

The purpose of the LMO is to establish standards to, among other things, contribute substantially to community resiliency to natural hazards and disasters. The section dealing with tree protection states that one of its goals is to enhance property values, but is otherwise silent on the rights of residents to protect their homes.

Hurricane Matthew, a medium sized, Category 2 hurricane, is a game changer. We now know that the LMO has not led to a resilience to hurricanes, and has not enhanced property values, but rather is responsible for many of the homes damaged or destroyed by falling trees.

This time we were lucky that no lives were lost.

The substantial damage to property is, however, unacceptable and could have been avoided. Now that we know what a hazard trees pose, residents need the option of removing trees in close proximity to their homes. This is after all the only protection available.

Please do not put us in a position of being evacuated off the island and left wondering what we will we return to — a home undamaged or a home damaged or destroyed by trees that could have, and should have, been removed. There are roughly 175 days before the next hurricane season so please address this matter as soon as possible.

This story was originally published November 17, 2016 at 11:37 AM with the headline "Letter: Residents need relief from LMO."