Large tree removal and denial of city permit

[Pammy1]

my Home is in Charleston, SC so keep in mind we are in hurricane territory. I have a red oak tree that is way over the city’s limit to enable me to cut it down without a permit. I have tried on 3 separate occasions to get a permit and have been denied by the city. The tree’s trunk is within 2 feet of the foundation of my home. The door to the crawl space of my home is buckled and the fence that is also within 2 feet of the trunk is getting pushed out of the ground a little more each year because the tree is leaning a little more each year. When the city official came to look at the tree in person, he commented that the tree shouldn’t have been allowed to stay when the house was built 16 years ago because of its proximity to the house.
If the tree falls and causes damage to my home and my neighbor’s house, my insurance will go up and I am the one left paying the tab. I am trying to be a responsible home owner and cut it down before damages are done but keep getting blocked by the city and its rules. Can my insurance provider help or will that just cause me to pay higher premiums once they find out this information?

 

[xylene]

Hire a lawyer to handle the permit cost.

I know it adds cost to what surely will a costly job, but it will be worth it.

 

[NeilTheCop]

You will have to do some research to see if this is applicable in your case, but if it is you can appeal the denial.
If not you can still go to the meeting and voice your concerns.
Article 3 Section 1
"Appeals from administrative or Board decisions"
https://library.municode.com/sc/charleston/codes/zoning?nodeId=APXCRUREBOZOAPONBOZOAPITDE

 

[adjusterjack]

Can my insurance provider help

Nope. Not until something happens and you are accused of negligence.

I am trying to be a responsible home owner and cut it down before damages are done but keep getting blocked by the city and its rules.

There are things you can do to protect your home that likely would not need a permit.

The first thing that comes to mind is have trenches dug on both sides of the tree and cut sections out of the roots that are aiming toward your house and fence and install root barriers.

The second thing is you probably don't need a permit to trim the tree. Get a tree trimming company to cut all the branches down to the trunk.

By the way, how do you know how tall the tree is in relation to the city's height limit? What is the city's height limit? How tall is your tree? Don't guess.

 

[FarmerJ]

Does your city require a permit to take down a few selected limbs ? AKA pruning n if they do not then is there a reason you cannot remove a few limbs this year then A few more next year ? & etc ?

 

[xylene]

I'm unsure why other posters are advising to slow kill the tree instead of getting help from a law professional to secure the proper permit.

 

[adjusterjack]

I'm unsure why other posters are advising to slow kill the tree instead of getting help from a law professional to secure the proper permit.

Oh, I don't know, maybe it's preferable over paying a lawyer $300+ per hour to deal with the bureaucracy.

 

[xylene]

Oh, I don't know, maybe it's preferable over paying a lawyer $300+ per hour to deal with the bureaucracy

That's a baloney anti-law thing to say. And since it is actually what the OP needs to do...

 

[adjusterjack]

Yes, I am anti baloney law.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Oh, I don't know, maybe it's preferable over paying a lawyer $300+ per hour to deal with the bureaucracy.

Depending on the local laws, there might still need to be a permit, and the tree being dead might not be enough for it to be granted.

(A relative used to live in such a community. Tree was half dead and leaning towards a neighbor's house, with an arborist's report supporting the removal post-Sandy and it *still* took several years to get the permit.)

 

[FarmerJ]

Pruning carefully doesn't necessarily kill a tree, BUT as I asked >Does your city require a permit to take down a few selected limbs ? AKA pruning < If your tree is leaning . perhaps the best thing is to hire out selective pruning then see how the tree does , I have a massive 100 + year oak that does a great job shading the driveway and a big area shading the pumphouse and dog house and every year Im having to prune a few branches , some smaller some a lot larger and it doesn't appear to be harming the tree , BUT this year Ive had a lot more trees die than ever before, 3 years ago one ash, then two years ago two more , and this year one more ash and four elms have died.( dutch elm disease has come back according to local extension office.

 

[westside]

I apologize if I missed it, but why have the permit applications been denied? Seems relevant.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

I apologize if I missed it, but why have the permit applications been denied? Seems relevant.

Because Charleston, SC is all about protecting old trees.

 

[westside]

Because Charleston, SC is all about protecting old trees.

If so, what a shame.

 

[stealth2]

My town has rather stringent requirements for wrt tree removal/replacement - it is very hard to get permits for removal w/o planting a replacement tree on the property. I found that it helped to hire an arborist who is also part of the town's tree commission - he was able to push through permits for removal w/o replacement.