Richland County to plant 112 trees to replace dozens crews cut down

Richland County will plant more than 100 trees throughout a Northeast community after work crews did what many would consider the unthinkable – cut down dozens of live oaks lining the street.

The developer of Landon Place off Killian Road notified County Administration in August of the issue, resulting in an internal review and a resolution. Richland County will replace 112 trees.

“This was a mistake,” said Gerald Seals, interim County Administrator. “We’ve implemented steps to prevent a similar incident from happening and will ensure the community landscape is restored.”

The incident originated in the aftermath of the October 2015 flood when someone called the Ombudsman Office to complain that trees in the neighborhood obstructed motorists’ views in traffic and branches posed a hazard to pedestrians. The complaint was routed to Public Works, but more immediate post-flood efforts delayed response to the request.

Public Works put the tree removal back on the schedule in May and viewed the request as a long-delayed work order that had already been vetted. By Aug. 9, all the trees were removed.

After the developer contacted the County, the Planning Department developed a tree replacement and maintenance plan for Landon Place. The goal is to have new live oaks planted in the community by Dec. 2, South Carolina’s Arbor Day.

In addition, the County is implementing a policy to ensure plans to cut trees in neighborhoods are reviewed by the appropriate staff to decide how to proceed.