Development planned for land near Angel Oak In a report sure to stoke debate over development planned on land abutting Charleston's Angel Oak Park, a College of Charleston biologist says the development would "cause irreparable harm to the Angel Oak, and result in the premature death of the tree." Angel Oak on Johns Island is at the center of debate over a development planned for the area. A College of Charleston biologist said Angel Oak Village would have a negative impact on the tree. "Most trees, live oaks included, have no set lifespan," wrote college senior instructor Jean Everett. "They essentially live forever, unless killed by environmental factors." "Development of the Angel Oak Village would cause too many environmental changes, all of which would have a negative impact on the Angel Oak," she concluded. Don Ham, an arborist who has worked with the city for decades to care for the famed live oak, and who was hired at the city's insistence as a consultant to the developers, had reached an opposite conclusion. "I don't know Dr. Everett, and I'm sure she's a very nice lady, but most of what she had to say as far as direct impact on the tree is very speculative," Ham said. "It made me wonder if she's even looked at the plans." "Another thing that totally flabbergasted me in Dr. Everett's report was where she said trees essentially live forever unless something in the environment kills them," Ham said. "Indeed, every plant has a lifespan that is genetically controlled." He said, tree said The reports of the arborist and hydrologist, approved by the city and hired by the Angel Oak Village developers, and a report from C of C biologist Jean Everett. • The original report from the arborist, dated 8/14/2008 • The original report from the hydrologist, dated 8/14/2008 • The report from College of Charleston biologist Jean Everett, dated 3/4/2009 • The rebuttal from the arborist, dated 3/19/2009 • The hydrologist's rebuttal, dated 3/21/2009 Angel Oak, promoted as the oldest tree east of the Mississippi River, has become a rallying point for opponents of the 42-acre development at Maybank Highway and Bohicket Road. The last plan shown to city reviewers called for businesses and 600 homes. Charleston City Council and the city's Planning Commission endorsed the development last year, after years of public discussion and planning. Opposition to the plan followed. Angel Oak became a city park in 1991 after Charleston bought the property at a delinquent tax sale for $127,900. The large adjacent tract slated for development was sold by Sea Island Comprehensive Health Care as the nonprofit organization emerged from bankruptcy in 2005. That same year the city reached a deal requiring the potential developers to create a 150-foot buffer around Angel Oak Park, a 75-foot natural buffer along unpaved Angel Oak Road, agree to extra levels of city review, create a 7-acre conservation zone adjacent to the park, and hire a hydrologist and a tree expert. Ham and Jim Gregory, the hydrologist, both concluded that the Angel Oak would not be harmed by the Angel Oak Village development, and city officials have been comfortable with their assessments. "The consultant the city selected is nationally renowned," said Christopher Morgan, director of the city's Planning Division. Previous story Builders dealt setback, published 1/23/09 Everett said she created her four-page report on Angel Oak Village at the request of Dana Beach, director of the Coastal Conservation League. "I didn't feel that I comfortably had enough knowledge about what the development would do to the tree," Beach said. "Jean Everett is somebody I've known for a long time and a respected botanist at the college, so I asked her to take a look at it." In an interview, Everett said she's not affiliated with the anti-development Save the Angel Oak group but is personally opposed to dense developments on Johns Island. The two sides are likely to continue to disagree on the impact on the Angel Oak. Meanwhile, the developers are scheduled to present a revised version of their plan to the city's Commercial Corridor Design Review Board on Thursday, at a meeting that starts at 5 p.m. at 75 Calhoun St. No vote is scheduled on the new plan Thursday by the design review board, which considers only design elements. The board does not have the authority to rescind the city's approval of the development.

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