Will Port Royal’s new approach to protecting its trees discourage growth?
By Tony Kukulich
The Post And Courier
PORT ROYAL
On an otherwise quiet morning in August 2022, residents in the center of town awoke to the sound of chainsaws buzzing through the hot, still air.
As temperatures were rising, crews were preparing to take down a landmark live oak that occupied a lot on the north side of 12th Street between Paris and Madrid avenues.
The Town of Port Royal had issued a construction permit to the developer of the 12th Street property, CHS Coastal Homes and Sunrooms, and the removal of the live oak was proceeding in accordance with the town’s regulations.
But one resident rushed to the town hall to appeal the issuance of the construction permit.
Later, the South Coast Director for the Coastal Conservation League, Jessie White, said, “It’s the tree canopy that defines Port Royal. So many residents expressed that these trees are part of the town’s identity.”
Work on the tree was halted. The tree’s branches had mostly been removed by that time, but its canopy remained, leaving it looking like a 60-foot-tall asparagus stalk.
Although the town’s 2018 tree ordinance was designed to preserve and protect the trees, on that day in August, neighbors and others recognized that the ordinance wasn’t working as well as intended.
“It seemed like the previous ordinance was strong, but in application, it wasn’t as strong as we thought,” White said.
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