Do I need a permit to clear a lot in Brunswick?

Depends on how much you are moving and where it's located. Usually it doesn't require it to just clear brush on a small residential lot. But if you're grubbing out stumps and doing a good bit of grading, etc. you need a land disturbance permit from either the City of Brunswick or Glynn County. And if you're close to any creek, ditch or marsh, state buffer laws come into play. We will tell you what we see when we look at the lot and give you a quote.

Part of my lot is wet most of the year. Can it be cleared?

Typically in the low, wet areas around Brunswick the property is either jurisdictional wetlands or within the buffer of a creek or marsh (state) so we are dealing with federal or state issues when clearing. We make sure that anything that appears to be a wetland is noted during estimate and suggest a delineation prior to doing any clearing. Usually upland clearing on the lot itself is pretty routine.

Can we just burn the brush pile?

No, not usually inside city limits. Outside city limits, in unincorporated Glynn County, you have to get a permit from the Georgia Forestry Commission to open burn vegetative debris. Also, you can't open burn during spring's burn ban. Most of our Brunswick customers either have us haul the debris or have it mulched.

Does Brunswick protect trees on private lots?

Glynn County has an ordinance for protecting mature specimen trees, especially live oaks. In addition the city has some regulations in the historic district. We will walk the property with you and identify trees we should protect. We will work the clearing around those trees. You're better off with a large live oak on a Brunswick property than open space beneath it.

Should the stumps come out or be cut flush?

If you're building or fencing or laying driveways, out. A flush cut stump in the wet soil of Brunswick will decay into a mushy cavity. This will swallow your fencepost or split your slab. We remove the rootball with an excavator and backfill it with compacted fill.

What happens to the low spots once the lot is open?

Clearing exposes them. When you clear the canopy you know where the water is going to sit. Then we grade it. Generally Brunswick jobs end with a rough grade to get the water to flow to the street or ditch. That way you aren't starting a fence or a slab on the ground that floods.

Land clearing in Brunswick, GA: opening up lots without running into the wetlands

Brunswick lots are overgrown, wet at the edges and often closer to a creek than they look. Clearing them well starts with knowing where to stop.

There is a lot of undeveloped real estate in and around Brunswick. We're talking infill lots in Old Town and Windsor Park grown up in wax myrtle and volunteer pines. Lots a half an acre on Altama Avenue or US 17 corridor overrun with palmetto and vines. Acres of land heading towards Sterling, Blythe Island and the county line that have thirty years worth of pine on them. Golden Isles Fencing and Excavation clears them. And as we are also a fencing and grading company, we clear them with the next step in mind. A fence line that needs to be straight. A pad that needs to drain. A driveway that needs to have a base.

Family owned, Christian-based company out of Brunswick. The only thing we won't do is run a machine in the ground we shouldn't be in. Mostly wet edges around Brunswick.

Wetlands, creeks and the marsh buffer

Brunswick is a very tidal creek, drainage ditch and marsh type of place. You have Terry Creek, Academy Creek, drainage ditches in Windsor Park and Dock Junction, Marshes of Glynn and Blythe Island marsh. There are a lot of city lots in Brunswick that have one of those. A lot that is wet most of the year could qualify as federal jurisdictional wetland. There are also Georgia's buffers on the creek and marsh that limit you on disturbance on the edge. Going in and clearing either type of that without the proper approvals is a big problem. When we do our estimate, we will walk the lot and flag anything that appears to be wetland or buffer. We will suggest getting it delineated before we do anything to it. Typically the upland portion of the lot will be easy and that's where all the value is.

Permits: city or county

Usually you don't have to get a permit to brush a small residential lot. If you are grubbing out stumps or doing rough grading over a larger area you need a permit. City of Brunswick if it's in the city limits. Glynn County Community Development if it's outside the city limits. You will have to install silt fence and erosion control. We will let you know which you need before we give you a price. A lot in Sterling or Blythe Island with a Brunswick address is in the county, not the city. It's a different process in the two offices.

Excavator lifting cut limbs and a felled tree trunk out of an overgrown lot — Storm timber and brush coming out of a lot by machine rather than by hand.

Trees worth keeping

Glynn County has a tree ordinance in place for mature specimen trees. Also the City has a review for the Old Town historical area. Besides those regulations, large live oak trees are worth much more to the lot in Brunswick than just the space they occupy and will be the only shade you will need in the month of August. First we walk the lot with you and mark the trees to save. We work out the clearing so the machine can stay out of the root zone. All the volunteer pines, sweetgum, Chinese tallow and privet are coming out. The oaks stay.

Stumps and the soft-pocket problem

In the wet sandy soil of Brunswick, a tree stump cut to ground level turns to mush in a few years and forms a weak spot that'll eat up a fence post or drag down a corner of a shed or split a slab. Stumps have to go if there's anything to be built there. We dig out the root ball with the excavator. Put fill in the hole to backfill it. Compact it. Level everything so that it's as hard on the stump's site as any other part.

Mini excavator chained down on a dump trailer on a sand track through pine woods — Machine and dump trailer travel together, so clearing and haul-off happen in one visit.

Debris: burn, haul or mulch

Burning vegetative debris is usually not allowed within the Brunswick city limits. Also in unincorporated Glynn County, you need to get a permit from the Georgia Forestry Commission to do so, and you can't burn when we have a spring burn ban. And a stinky pile of smoke 100 feet from your neighbor's property is never a popular thing. Our Brunswick clients usually have us haul their debris to a dump or mulch it on the property for them (we can spread it as ground cover or just leave it in a pile for decay). We give you pricing for all options.

How a Brunswick clearing job runs

Walk the lot. Flagging trees that are keepers. Flag anything that you think could be wetland or buffer. Mark property pins. Figure out what permit office.
Utilities located. Before we do anything with any buckets we call in to locate.
Clear. Mulcher or excavator remove brush, small trees, understory, working around keeper trees.
Grub and backfill. Pull stumps. Fill and compact holes.
Rough grade. Water going to street or ditch so we can get started next step dry.
Debris out. Haul or mulch. Clean site.

What clearing reveals

When you clear off the canopy and the brush, you'll expose your low spots. Now it is time to grade. If you build your fence or slab on that part of the lot that floods every June, your fence or slab will go out just like the old fence. Most of the clearing jobs we do in Brunswick end up in a rough grade so that we are moving water where it needs to go. Free estimates. We can estimate your fence if you are going to build one on the lot.

Land clearing elsewhere in the Golden Isles

Island lots come with tree ordinances and marsh buffers of their own. Read about land clearing on St. Simons Island, land clearing on Jekyll Island, and everything we do as a fence and excavation company in Brunswick.

What usually follows clearing in Brunswick

Once the lot is open, most owners need our land grading in Brunswick, wood fencing in Brunswick, excavation and site prep, and land clearing service overview.

Mini excavator loaded on a dump trailer at a job site

Questions and answers

Common questions about land clearing in Brunswick

What lot owners in and around Brunswick ask before we bring in the machine.

Depends on how much you are moving and where it's located. Usually it doesn't require it to just clear brush on a small residential lot. But if you're grubbing out stumps and doing a good bit of grading, etc. you need a land disturbance permit from either the City of Brunswick or Glynn County. And if you're close to any creek, ditch or marsh, state buffer laws come into play. We will tell you what we see when we look at the lot and give you a quote.
Typically in the low, wet areas around Brunswick the property is either jurisdictional wetlands or within the buffer of a creek or marsh (state) so we are dealing with federal or state issues when clearing. We make sure that anything that appears to be a wetland is noted during estimate and suggest a delineation prior to doing any clearing. Usually upland clearing on the lot itself is pretty routine.
No, not usually inside city limits. Outside city limits, in unincorporated Glynn County, you have to get a permit from the Georgia Forestry Commission to open burn vegetative debris. Also, you can't open burn during spring's burn ban. Most of our Brunswick customers either have us haul the debris or have it mulched.

Glynn County has an ordinance for protecting mature specimen trees, especially live oaks. In addition the city has some regulations in the historic district. We will walk the property with you and identify trees we should protect. We will work the clearing around those trees. You're better off with a large live oak on a Brunswick property than open space beneath it.
If you're building or fencing or laying driveways, out. A flush cut stump in the wet soil of Brunswick will decay into a mushy cavity. This will swallow your fencepost or split your slab. We remove the rootball with an excavator and backfill it with compacted fill.
Clearing exposes them. When you clear the canopy you know where the water is going to sit. Then we grade it. Generally Brunswick jobs end with a rough grade to get the water to flow to the street or ditch. That way you aren't starting a fence or a slab on the ground that floods.