Public outcry saves protected trees from chopping block, for now

On the last day of May, a Saturday afternoon, the Daniel Island Neighborhood Association sent an email, along with a Facebook post, to its subscribers.

 

“Alert: the Nowell Creek Developer has requested to remove 24 mature trees from along DI Drive and replace them with 24 rental townhomes.”

 

The email continued:

 

“Should you have an opinion, please submit here.”

 

The volunteer neighborhood association, which champions itself as representing “ALL” of Daniel Island, inserted a link for posting public comments to the City of Charleston’s Board of Zoning Appeals.

 

Just days earlier, on May 27, Holder Properties, the developer of the new Nowell Creek Village located off Daniel Island Drive – filed a variance request to remove 24 protected trees, citing that “some of the trees are in the proposed location of buildings.”

 

Holder Properties has been developing the former site of the Charleston Battery soccer stadium into apartments, rental townhomes, and condominiums. Its Fenland Phase 2 plan called for 24 townhomes to be built on the location where 22 oaks and two palm trees currently grow.

 

“It would be excessively difficult to maintain the health of the trees during development and grading of the area,” the request to the city zoning board read.

 

With a public hearing scheduled a few days later on June 4, the neighborhood association called on its residents to give their input.

 

And they did – in numbers.

 

Within four days, at least 320 public comments – mainly from posters who listed their addresses as Daniel Island – clearly expressed opposition to the developer’s request:

 

• “To remove those trees and replace (them) with concrete and asphalt would also eliminate a beautiful visual buffer in front of a massive, out-of-place apartment development.”

 

• “(The) zoning board needs to take into consideration the overbuilding happening on the island. We can’t prioritize property tax revenue over the culture and beauty of this island.”

 

In all, only one comment out of more than 300 posted appeared to favor the developer: 

 

“I write in support of the zoning variance for this project. It would create over 20 homes for families and provide an accessible starting point for young families to live in the area.”

 

In response to public comments, Holder Properties decided to defer the tree removal request to a later date.

 

“We requested the deferral to allow more time for conversations with neighbors and community leaders,” said Abby Hawkins, vice president of public relations at Holder Properties. 

 

“We’re committed to being thoughtful and transparent throughout this process.”

 

This is not the first time a public outcry to save trees has put Holder Properties’ priorities on hold. 

 

In late 2023, a request to remove 18 trees near a Holder Properties development off I-526 was also deferred, after residents flooded the city’s website with hundreds of save the tree comments.

 

At this time, no date has been set for a future request by Holder Properties to remove the trees, which would  be submitted to the appeals board.