Tree commission wins Trees for SC grant and pushes for citywide inventory and dedicated tree fund

Bai Henley, chair of the Tree and Appearance Commission, told the committee the commission secured a Trees for SC grant that will produce canopy mapping and a code audit for the City of Columbia at no expense to taxpayers.

"They will be mapping as well as code auditing our policies and procedures regarding our care of trees," Henley said, adding the commission wants the Columbia Landscape and Tree Fund separated from the general fund so monies collected from felled-tree fees are reserved for canopy care.

Gray Taylor, the commission's chair elect, described the grant's preliminary canopy analysis and the commission's next step: a comprehensive tree inventory that would record species, size, health and hazard assessments for city-owned trees. Taylor said the draft high-level map showed roughly 42% canopy coverage for the city when federal land (Fort Jackson) is removed from the dataset.

Committee members pressed for clarity on costs and implementation. Staff warned that a complete inventory will identify trees that must be removed for safety, creating sizable removal and maintenance obligations; one staff member estimated current removal costs at about $5,000—to $6,000 per tree. Henley and others proposed phased work and neighborhood education to reduce resistance to removals.

The commission also recommended dark-sky lighting standards and noted undergrounding utilities is a best practice to protect trees and reduce outages; commissioners cited other South Carolina municipalities that have pursued similar work.

What happens next: the commission and staff will refine the canopy map (excluding federal land where appropriate), scope a comprehensive inventory and report cost estimates and funding options to the council as part of upcoming budget discussions.