Cutting trees to cost Dorchester County developers per inch

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Businesses cutting trees in Dorchester County will now have the option to pay for the county to replace them rather than doing it themselves.

Dorchester County Council unanimously approved a "Fee in Lieu of Planting Trees Requirement for Mitigation" ordinance at its meeting Monday.

The fee will allow businesses an alternative method for mitigating tree removal during the construction process. And it will give the county some leeway in where to replant trees.

Previously, if a property developer cut down a protected tree during construction he was required to replant a tree on the property as mitigation.

The motion to adopt the fee was one of three changes in the county's tree protection policy.

At the April 7 council meeting, the Planning, Development and Building Committee voted to amend the current Zoning and Land Development Standards section under the Tree and Canopy Protection Standards, to loosen restrictions on single family residences and tighten restrictions on developers.

As a part of changing developers' restrictions, the updated ordinance implements a new "tree bank" system as part of its Tree Planting Plan.

According to the plan, when a developer cuts down a protected tree and does not replant as mitigation, the developer will be charged a fee. The fees will be deposited into the tree bank account to be used only for replacing trees in public county spaces.

Protected trees are 15 inches or greater in diameter at breast height.

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Cutting trees to cost Dorchester County developers per inch