Environment
Inch by inch, fine for cutting trees will add up
Not all trees are equal, but under the Georgetown County tree ordinance the penalty for cutting a protected tree is the same: $500.
A proposal before the Planning Commission would change that fine to $500 for every inch of the tree trunk’s diameter.
“Obviously our current fees were not serving as a deterrent,” said Holly Richardson, the county planning director.
A proposal up for a public hearing by the Planning Commission today would make the minimum fine for cutting a protected tree on the Waccamaw Neck $5,000, or maybe a little more. That’s because the trees – except pines, palmettos, gums and a few other species – are protected once the trunk reaches 10 inches in diameter at “breast height,” measured 4.5 feet above the ground.
Penalties for illegal cutting would be based on the “caliper” of the trunk measured a foot above the ground.
“A stump might be all that’s left,” Richardson explained.
It was the cutting of a live oak off Highway 17 in North Litchfield that prompted the latest revision to the tree ordinance.
Tom Martin, a North Litchfield resident, told officials in February that he was concerned it would be cut. He called again when the tree was cut down in early May.
A zoning official spoke with the crew and told them about the $500 fine. One of them flashed a “thumbs up” sign to Martin as he drove off.
“They’re making a mockery out of the process,” Martin said. “It shows the attitude and what we’re up against.”
He measured the stump at 42 inches in diameter. That would result in a $21,000 fine under the revised ordinance.
In addition, the current ordinance would require three replacement trees be planted. The proposed change would prohibit any further development on the property for two years.
If a tree is completely removed before it can be measured, the fine in the proposed ordinance would be based on the minimum size of a “grand tree”: 24 inches or $12,000.
“It’s hard for me to judge the adequacy of the fine,” Martin said, but he called it “a step in the right direction.”
“I would like this tree to mean something,” he added.
After it was cut down, Richardson said she reviewed other tree ordinances with the county attorney, Jay Watson. The town of Pawleys Island adopted a tree ordinance this year that also assesses penalties by the inch.
State law limits the penalties for misdemeanors, so Richardson said the fines will be considered an add-on.
The goal is not to hit violators with a fine for cutting trees, but to prevent them being cut in the first place, she said.
Martin said he would like to see the ordinance strengthen even more by removing exemptions for owner-occupied homes, golf courses and industrial sites. He plans to pitch those ideas to the commission.
Also on the agenda is a proposal from Council Member Bob Anderson to require multi-family development to follow the density limits in the comprehensive plan rather than the zoning ordinance.
The commission meets at 5:30 p.m. today in the County Council chambers in Georgetown.
