Board rejects request to remove large live oak for Circle K redevelopment at Atlantic Avenue

A request to remove a large live oak at 610 Atlantic Avenue to allow a proposed Circle K redevelopment failed at the Horry County Zoning Board meeting on June 11.

Rob Shelton, an attorney representing the underlying property owner, told the board that SCDOT has acquired right-of-way and intends to elevate and reconfigure Atlantic Avenue, raising grade by at least 12 inches. Shelton said the required fill over the tree’s root zone "would surely kill the tree," pointing to the project's road-elevation impacts and the DOT acquisition of adjoining land. Delmar representative Matt Goodstein said grade changes and proximity to the widened roadway left the property nonconforming and that combining adjacent parcels would be impractical without removing the oak; he added the redevelopment would bring a more attractive use to the corner.

Board members and multiple speakers debated alternatives, including tree wells and mitigation requirements. Staff noted the mitigation standard — replacement trees or an $8,700 fee-in-lieu for the 47-inch live oak — and the arborist's reports in the packet. Several board members suggested engineering solutions might allow the tree to survive, while others emphasized that the DOT elevations may make preservation impossible. The motion to approve the tree removal did not pass.

The failure of the motion means the request to remove the live oak and related site changes did not receive the board's authorization; applicants and staff may return with revised plans or further evidence about whether the grade changes render the tree unsalvageable.