Atlanta Council to vote on tree canopy rules
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
The Atlanta City Council is scheduled to vote today on new rules to protect the city's famous tree canopy — and which critics say don't go far enough.
Why it matters: Atlanta's falling short of meeting a goal to cover half the city with lush greenery, risking the city's brand and a vital tool in combatting the effects of climate change.
Zoom in: The proposed — and long-debated — ordinance increases the fee developers and property owners must pay to cut down trees based on their diameter. For the first time, the rules would apply to multi-family and commercial properties.
- Other provisions include reserving some of that "recompense fee" revenue, which the city uses to plant trees and protect forests, to help seniors and people living on low incomes cut down hazardous trees.
- It also raises the per-acre-cap on recompense fees.
State of play: Developers are more or less on board. Critics including Trees Atlanta say the new rules — particularly the dropping of standards requiring developers and property owners to preserve a percentage of a parcel for tree cover — won't help.
The big picture: The tree ordinance is the third rail of Atlanta politics and pits developers against environmentalists and Buckhead residents watching crews clear lots for mansions.
The bottom line: City planning commissioner Jahnee Prince and Michael Smith, Mayor Andre Dickens' press secretary, both say the proposed version is as good as the legislation is going to get, the AJC reports.