Laurens County, SC Tree Protection: Protected Tree Species (2026)

Chapter 33's tree protection appendix builds a size-based ladder of protected species rather than naming individual trees. Any healthy hardwood measuring 25 inches or more in circumference, about 8 inches in diameter at breast height, is a protected tree that must be preserved to the extent practical, with replacement required if it comes down. At 50 inches in circumference, a 16-inch diameter, the same hardwood becomes a specimen tree, protected to the maximum extent feasible and subject to a higher-caliper replacement if removed. At 94 inches in circumference, a 30-inch diameter, it becomes a historic tree, carrying the ordinance's steepest mitigation fee and fine.

Four ornamental species get special, lower-threshold protection: flowering dogwood, redbud, magnolia and crape myrtle are all classified as protected trees once they reach 12.5 inches in circumference, about 4 inches in diameter, well below the 8-inch general hardwood threshold. Pine trees in fair or better condition at 10 inches in diameter or more are also protected, but only when standing inside a protected zone such as required open space, a buffer or a street yard. The ordinance's Table D.6 nuisance species list, covering Bradford pear, tree-of-heaven, mimosa, Chinese tallow and similar invasive trees, is carved out of protection entirely: those species can be removed without a permit and cannot be counted toward replacement or landscaping credit.