County proposes tree removal and mitigation plan for James Island road improvements

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - Charleston County is proposing a tree removal and mitigation plan to make room for road and safety improvements on James Island.

The upcoming project will provide dedicated turn lanes from Central Park Road onto Riverland Drive, along with improved pedestrian crossings and sidewalks along Riverland.

The improvements will add a marked crosswalk, pedestrian-activated flashing beacons, a new right-turn lane, and expanded sidewalks.

County officials say the improvements are designed to enhance safety while limiting impacts to nearby properties and historic trees. However, some residents are concerned about removing any trees in this area of James Island, which is known for its canopy.

“We certainly recognize the nature and the kind of context of that corridor and that those trees provide,” Eric Adams, Charleston County public works department director, says. “So we definitely want to be sensitive to that, and we’ve tried to be as sensitive as possible, but still follow through on the direction that county council has given us to install that turn lane, provide those pedestrian improvements, and build the sidewalk.”

In reviewing the plans, the county has identified three grand and protected trees that require approval for removal, nine proposed for removal due to poor condition, and 29 grand and protected trees that will be preserved.

The three requiring approval are a 29-inch live oak with a B grade, a 27.5-inch sweet gum with a C grade, and a 23.5-inch sweet gum with a C grade. The other nine are a mix of grade D and F trees.

“We’ve really tried to adjust the design to minimize any tree impacts, but also minimize impacts to the adjacent property owners,” Adams says. “So we don’t want to encroach into property any further than we have to, and we also don’t want to remove any trees that we don’t have to. So it’s really a balancing act of being able to provide those improvements, that sidewalk improvement, the short turn lane improvement, and also balance those other factors that we’re trying to limit as well.”

This is the third road project for which the removal and mitigation of grand and protected trees are proposed since new amendments allowing exemptions to the county’s tree preservation and protection requirements were adopted.

However, some residents have shown opposition to the amendments and against the removal of any protected or grand tree in the area.

“Removing trees for a road project is a huge undertaking,” Liz Munn, a Charleston County resident and member of the Charleston County Tree Preservation Alliance, says. “Trees have a special communication between each other, and having them close together and having more than one tree together is really important.”

She says she visited the area to see the proposed removal for herself and found a pair of ‘sister trees’ she doesn’t want to see gone.

“I think to remove this many trees in such a close proximity to each other is going to adversely stress the trees that remain, and it will take away any character of the street that currently exists,” Munn says.

The project begins at the intersection with Woodland Shores Drive and continues along Riverland Drive, ending at the entrance to the Lowcountry Senior Center.

The project has completed limited site plan review and has been approved with conditions. County records show staff recommends the approval of the removal of the three grand and protected trees, with $20,000 to be paid into a county tree fund. The money in the fund will help plant three other trees to replace the three that could possibly be removed.

Adams says it’s all a prescribed process and one that isn’t taken lightly.

“We want to be very intentional about the evaluation of the trees to minimize the removal and really try to work around them as we go through the design process,” Adams says. “But unfortunately, sometimes we do have to remove trees.”

The Charleston County public hearing will be held on Thursday, June 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Council Chambers. However, no vote will be taken that night, and it will go to County Council for final vote on June 25.

“I just really pray that these folks that are doing this have a solid plan to remove that many trees that we will not see again in our lifetime, even if they are mitigated,” Munn says. “They should be 100% sure that this is the best solution for that area.”