Laurens County, SC Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)

Appendix C to the county's Residential Subdivisions Ordinance in chapter 33 defines a heritage tree as any tree the political subdivision designates as notable for its age, size or cultural significance, a category separate from the code's "historic tree" definition, a hardwood 30 inches or more in diameter measured at breast height. Once a tree carries heritage status, removing it during development triggers the strictest replacement math in the tree ordinance: a 1:1 caliper-inch ratio, so cutting down a healthy 24-inch heritage tree obligates the developer to replant 24 caliper-inches of new stock, whether that is eight three-inch trees, six four-inch trees, or another combination that reaches the total.

Replacement trees must be installed before the county issues a certificate of occupancy on any home or commercial building, or before it records a final plat, on the property. If a developer elects not to replant, chapter 33 lets the county collect a fee in lieu based on the regional retail cost of three-inch caliper nursery stock, with specimen and historic trees carrying an added flat mitigation fee of $50.00 per caliper inch, plus a $40.00 per caliper inch fine for historic trees, capped at $25,000.00 per acre of the project site.

All mitigation money goes into the county's tree and environmental fund, spendable only on public tree planting, canopy maintenance, land purchase for tree preservation or public environmental remediation.