City of Dunwoody moves forward with proposed Tree Protection Ordinance.

Full Proposed Tree Protection Ordinance

At the last City Council meeting, I raised concerns regarding the proposed Tree Protection Ordinance as I wasn't sure the specific problem we were trying to fix.  I asked for removal of Pine tree regulations and to add protections from clearing prior to construction in order to put more restrictions on developers vs individual homeowners, but those changes were not accepted by staff.   I thought the determination of compliance by the general homeowner was too difficult and that the administrative burden & financial cost to properly prepare for the permit was greater than the benefit to the community as I believe this ordinance impacts those who try to comply more than those who remove trees and risk being cited.  Based on what I am reading, I am not in favor of the ordinance as I believe it is an overstep that fixes a narrow issue with a broad brushstroke.

In order to better understand the proposal, I measured several trees on my property in order to determine their status.  I have a very large pine tree that measured 54 inches around, divided by 3.14 comes to a DBH of 17.19 therefore as it is under 20 there is no permit needed.  I can remove that one tree at anytime without coming to the city and I am guessing a great many pines are not subject to the ordinance as long as you only remove six.

I have two large oak trees in the front of my yard that far exceed the DBH of 24 therefore they are specimen trees and would be immediately subject to the ordinance.

I have several beautifully large magnolia trees that have three separate trunks and after researching I still have no clue if they are hardwood / softwood or understory?  Are they a specimen tree or not?  Am I subject to a permit?

I have read both pro and con comments, but a resident raised a concern that he wanted to remove a few trees to put up solar panels (in order to be Green) but that he might be required to replace the trees, the ordinance does not address this issue. 

The proposed implementation date was changed to January 1, 2023 in order to educate the community and the tree service industry therefore there is no hurry to pass this ordinance and because of that I will be asking for a deferral until the July meeting to allow this proposal to be fully vetted by the community and then modified by Council if needed.