Orangeburg County, SC Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Zoning Ordinance § 4.5.2
- Protected threshold
- 30 inches DBH (diameter breast high)
- Protected areas
- Setbacks, yards, bufferyards, required open space
- Clearing cap
- No more than 25% of significant trees, § 4.5.4
- Key exemption
- Existing single-family lots of record, § 4.5.3
- Removal penalty
- Replace at 3x DBH removed, § 4.5.6
Summary
Unincorporated Orangeburg County protects mature trees by size, not species. Zoning Ordinance Section 4.5.2 designates any tree measuring 30 inches DBH (diameter at breast height) a "significant tree," and bars anyone from destroying or removing one within a protected tree area without following the ordinance's tree-protection process.
Any tree measuring 30 inches DBH (Diameter Breast High) shall constitute a "significant tree" for purposes of this section and shall be protected to the extent practical and feasible. To this end, no person, firm, organization, society, association or corporation, or any agent or representative thereof shall directly or indirectly destroy or remove any tree in violation of the terms of this section. ... Protected tree areas shall consist of required setback areas and yards, bufferyards and required open space. Trees located outside of these designated areas shall not be subject to the requirements of this section.
Full Breakdown
2 of the Zoning Ordinance (Appendix A) is the county's version of a heritage or landmark tree rule: instead of naming particular species, it draws the line at size. Any tree measuring 30 inches DBH, diameter measured at breast height, becomes a significant tree that the ordinance protects to the extent practical and feasible, and the section bars any person, firm, organization, society, association or corporation, or an agent of one, from directly or indirectly destroying or removing such a tree in violation of the section.
2 defines as required setback areas and yards, bufferyards, and required open space. A significant tree standing outside those designated areas, for example in the buildable interior of a large lot, is not covered by the section at all. 4 caps how many can be cleared for a project at 25 percent of those on the site, and anything beyond that share triggers a Zoning Administrator-approved replacement schedule matching the removed trees' combined diameter on an inch-for-inch basis. 5.
Violations & Fines
Destroying or removing a 30-inch-DBH significant tree inside a protected tree area without Zoning Administrator approval violates Section 4.5.2, and doing so triggers the replacement duty in Section 4.5.6: the responsible party must plant replacement trees whose combined DBH equals at least three times the DBH of the tree removed, sized to the largest transplantable stock available, under a schedule the Zoning Administrator approves.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a tree "protected" in unincorporated Orangeburg County?
Are protected trees covered everywhere on my property?
Is my existing house lot exempt from the significant tree rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Orangeburg County
Compare Orangeburg County to another location·View the South Carolina tree protection overview
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