Pender County board grants tree‑mitigation variance for Scotts Hill commercial project with conditions

The Pender County Board of Adjustments on Nov. 19 approved a variance allowing a commercial developer to provide fewer on‑site mitigation trees than required by the county’s Unified Development Ordinance, subject to conditions including larger caliper trees, five years of annual reporting and a fee‑in‑lieu intended for nearby Abbey Nature Preserve.

County planning staff said the Baker Commercial/Lee Properties proposal at the US 17 and Scottsdale Loop Road intersection would remove about 167 significant trees and that the code’s 2‑for‑1 replacement rule would require about 334 replacement trees. The applicant told the board it can provide 188 mitigation trees on site, leaving a shortfall of 146 trees under a strict 2:1 interpretation; of those 188, the applicant offered to plant 163 at a larger, 3‑inch caliper instead of the ordinance’s 2‑inch minimum to accelerate canopy growth.

“Strict compliance with the tree mitigation requirement would make viable development of this site…