Aiken County, SC Landscaping Rules: Tree Trimming (2026)

The tree-maintenance standard in Sec. 13(4)c applies to every permanent tree on a nonresidential or multifamily site inside the Highway Corridor Overlay District, whether it was preserved during development or planted as a replacement tree under the chapter's tree-preservation rules. Regardless of the pruning method a crew uses, no more than one-third of the crown may be removed in any one growing season. Where a limb below seven feet blocks sightlines and creates a public-safety concern, crews may raise the crown or elevate lower limbs following the ANSI A300 (Part 1) tree pruning standard's best-management practices.

Pruning must respect the species' natural shape: a tree meant to grow full to the ground, magnolias are named specifically in the code, cannot be limbed up to expose a bare trunk. The section flatly bars topping or heading back, defined as cutting a limb back to a stub, bud or lateral branch too small to take over as the new leader. Where a tree's size does need to be reduced, the code requires crown reduction instead, cutting back to a lateral branch that is at least one-third the diameter of the limb being removed.

These standards stay in force for the life of the site: the approved landscape plan must remain on site through construction until a certificate of occupancy issues, and the planning and development director can require corrective pruning if a contractor's cuts violate the one-third or no-topping rules.