Tree Protection in South Carolina (2026)

Dorchester County protects Grand trees, its heritage class: any tree 24 inches DBH or larger, including pine. Grand…

Aiken County gives its largest trees, oaks, pines and magnolias over 24 inches in diameter, a higher protection tier…

Beaufort County's Community Development Code protects "grand trees," exceptionally large trees of a given species such…

Charleston protects any 'grand tree,' defined as 24 inches or more in diameter at breast height (excluding pines and…

Columbia has no separate "heritage tree" list; instead its Unified Development Ordinance singles out "grand trees" for…

In the Town of Mount Pleasant, § 156.710 classifies any tree 24 inches or larger in diameter at breast height as a…

North Charleston reserves its toughest tree protection for 'grand trees,' healthy trees 24 inches or more in diameter…

Rock Hill's Zoning Ordinance protects canopy trees over 32 inches in diameter at breast height (10 inches for…

Unincorporated Laurens County defines a heritage tree as one the county designates for its historic, size or cultural…

Lexington County Code § 14-142(c) requires new residential subdivisions to survey for 'trophy trees' before design and…

Unincorporated Orangeburg County protects mature trees by size, not species. Zoning Ordinance Section 4.5.2 designates…

York County protects "grand trees," its version of heritage trees, on land being developed under Land Development Code…

In unincorporated Georgetown County, the Development Regulations governing subdivisions require tree protection to be…

Greenville County doesn't stop a landowner from removing a heritage or historic tree: the definition in its tree…

Charleston's zoning code protects two tiers of trees by trunk diameter: any grand tree of 24 inches or more, excluding…

Beaufort County's Community Development Code defines a "specimen tree" by species and trunk diameter, from 4-inch…

Columbia's Unified Development Ordinance defines a "protected tree" at Sec. 17-5.4(c)(1) as any grand tree, any tree…

Dorchester County protects trees by size, not just species: any Significant Tree (12 to 24 inches in diameter…

Greenville County's tree ordinance singles out Heritage (Historic) Trees and Specimen Trees for extra protection on…

Horry County protects 25 native tree species by name, from bald cypress and live oak to pecan and sycamore, once they…

Unincorporated Laurens County's tree ordinance protects any healthy hardwood 8 inches or more in diameter as a…

The Town of Mount Pleasant's tree protection subchapter, Town Code § 156.710, defines a 'protected tree' as any tree…

Street trees along Beaufort County roads must clear the curb and sidewalk by three to four feet depending on planting…

No shade or ornamental tree or shrub may go into a Charleston public right-of-way or easement without the Department of…

New subdivisions in Columbia must plant one street tree for every 40 linear feet of lot frontage, set within a planting…

Cluster subdivisions in Dorchester County must plant a canopy street tree every 50 feet on average down the center of…

New subdivisions in unincorporated Florence County must plant a street tree in the public right-of-way for every lot…

Non-residential, multifamily, townhome and in-common residential projects fronting any road on Horry County's Table 1…

In the Town of Mount Pleasant, street trees planted within the public right-of-way of new streets must follow Town…

Rock Hill's Zoning Ordinance requires street trees along new and extended roads in non-residential and multi-family…

York County does not require street trees in single-family subdivisions, but if a developer plants them, § 154.094 sets…