Charleston, SC Tree Protection: Parkway Planting (2026)

Sections 22-51 and 22-52 of the Charleston City Code, adopted under Ordinance No. 2010-111, govern planting in the public right-of-way. Section 22-51 bars planting any shade or ornamental tree or shrub in a city right-of-way or easement until the director of the department of parks has approved it and issued a permit. Section 22-52 then ties that approval to specific technical standards: the species and cultivar of the tree, its structural form, the spacing between plantings, and the distance from the edge of pavement, asphalt or sidewalk, all as set out in the city's street tree manual.

Planting is done at the permittee's own expense once approved. The program sits within Division 4 of Chapter 22, which also funds an annual appropriation for street tree purchases under § 22-50 and separately requires a permit to remove, cut or prune a right-of-way tree under § 22-53, to remove tree-protection devices under § 22-54, and to place stone or other material that blocks water and air to a tree's roots under § 22-55. Anyone who interferes with parks department staff performing tree work in the right-of-way is separately liable under § 22-59.