Angel Oak land purchase OK'd: City park expansion will waste $500,000, foes say

The ancient Angel Oak tree on Johns Island is safer now that the city of Charleston got approval to purchase land to expand the park around one of the South's oldest live oak trees, city officials said.

But some residents who attended Tuesday's Charleston County Council meeting said buying the land is a waste of more than $500,000 in tax dollars because the purchase doesn't give the tree any additional protection.

County Council voted 5-3 with one abstention to approve the city's $518,000 request to buy 6.5 acres near the Angel Oak. It reversed a Finance Committee decision last week that denied the request. The city already owns the 2-acre park where the tree now sits. Council members Colleen Condon, Dickie Schweers, Henry Darby, Anna Johnson and Herb Sass were in favor of the purchase. Councilmen Joe Qualey, Elliott Summey and Vic Rawl were opposed. Chairman Teddie Pryor abstained.

County Council must approve such purchases because it has the final say over how the city spends $10 million from the half-cent sales tax. The county's cities and towns each got some money, which was allocated based on population, to preserve green space and build parks.

Charleston Mayor Joe Riley on Monday said purchasing the land is important to safeguard the tree's health. A parking lot now sits above a portion of the tree's massive root system. The city plans to move the parking lot, but it can't do that if it doesn't own the land, he said. Riley also said preserving the wooded space around the tree will enhance visitors' experience.

Council's Finance Committee last week shot down the city's request largely because the property has conservation zoning, which most committee members said protects the area around the park from development.

Schweers, one of only two council members who supported the city's request last week, said zoning isn't a strong enough protection because it can be changed.

He also said that he thinks County Council should approve the city's requests for such purchases as long as they fall within the county's guidelines. The requests initially are approved by City Council, he said. "That's the group closest to the people."

Matt Compton, the city's deputy director of parks, told County Council members Tuesday that the city must own the land if it wants to move the parking lot.

Compton said that if the city didn't buy the land, the developer who now owns it would put strict deed restrictions on the property. Those restrictions would allow only trails, and wouldn't allow the parking lot to be moved, putting the tree in danger, he said.

Samantha Siegel, a county resident and one of the founder's of the group Save the Angel Oak, said she disagreed with Compton's argument and thinks using tax dollars to purchase the land is a waste of money.

She said she has seen a federal application document where the owner already had stated that he would move the parking lot.

The tree is very important, but the city's land purchase won't provide additional protection for the Angel Oak, she said.