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Resident urges council to protect Charleston’s mature trees, suggests incentives and partnerships

Charleston City Council · January 20, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Patricia Smith, a native Charlestonian, told the council that 'old growth' trees are disappearing across neighborhoods and urged tax incentives, stipends and public recognition to preserve mature trees, noting stormwater and infrastructure benefits and that over 90% of city trees are privately owned.

A Charleston resident on the council agenda urged elected officials to do more to protect mature trees in neighborhoods, arguing that big trees provide stormwater management, habitat and neighborhood character and that private owners need incentives and recognition to preserve them.

"Save the ones you've got. Protect the…

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