Lexington planning commission reviews major amendments to landscaping and tree ordinance

The Town of Lexington Planning Commission on Jan. 29 reviewed proposed amendments to the town's landscaping and tree ordinance (Chapter 156) that would extend requirements to residential development, add protections for trophy trees and create new enforcement mechanisms.

Jessica (planning staff) told commissioners that the council first directed staff to research updates on Sept. 16 and that "Town Council approved first reading of the proposed amendments and enacted the pending ordinance doctrine on January 6." She said the redlined draft in commissioners' packets aligns the town's rules with Lexington County's landscape and open-space ordinances and the South Carolina Local Government Comprehensive Planning Enabling Act of 1994.

Why it matters: the changes would shift administration and enforcement from parks to the planning and building department, add a dedicated landscape and code enforcement officer, and change minimum buffers and mitigation rules that affect developers, homeowners and utilities along high-traffic corridors such as Sunset Boulevard and Highway 378.

Key provisions and staff commitments - Applicability: The draft expands the town's landscape rules beyond commercial uses to include residential development; the text in the packet replaces language that formerly applied only to commercial uses. Jessica said staff would "go line item by line item" with the commission on the…