Charleston, SC Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Section 54-327 of Charleston's Zoning Ordinance sets citywide tree protection standards for private property, separate from the right-of-way tree rules in the general code. A 'grand tree,' defined as 24 inches or greater diameter at breast height and excluding pine and sweetgum, cannot be removed, relocated, destroyed or abused in any manner on non-exempt land without a variance, special exception or staff approval under § 54-329; subdividers may not even site a lot so that building a home would force removal of a grand tree.

Before a building permit or subdivision approval issues, no more than 25 percent of the 'protected trees,' 8 inches or greater diameter, on a single parcel may be removed within any five-year period, and every parcel must keep at least 15 protected trees per acre regardless of percentage. During and after development, the same 15-per-acre floor applies, using the site's actual protected tree count where fewer than 15 per acre exist, and saved grand trees count toward the total. Tree colonnades and allees, at least two parallel rows of four or more same-species trees with at least two measuring 20 inches or greater, are separately protected from removal entirely, with exceptions only for public right-of-way rows and utility-line clearance maintained by the city or utilities.

Removal without following § 54-329's approval standards, such as an unsafe-vision hazard, disease, or structural damage to a habitable building, requires replacement, and unlawful removal from a single-family lot can require replacement trees totaling up to three times the removed tree's diameter in caliper inches.