ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46). Environmental activists and some Atlanta city council members feel that the current tree ordinance is without teeth.
They say that new legislation is long overdue, citing everything from its fee structure to its lackluster incentive for developers to conserve trees.
Julian Bond, Atlanta City Councilman confirmed that a new proposal would be presented to Monday’s city council meeting. We want to see new development, but not at the cost of our tree canopy.
Some people refer to Atlanta as a city in a forest, while others call it ‘the city in the trees’. But, Atlanta is known for its canopy.
Greg Levine from Trees Atlanta says that coverage is rapidly falling.
The organization plants, protects and teaches people about the importance of local greenery. For example, leaves improve air quality and roots minimize flooding.
Levine, however, tells CBS46 that the metro ranks among the top ten in southeast for tree loss according to recent findings by American Forest Work (a national group based in D.C.).
He continued, “We are losing it every day because we are moving faster than our improvement in protecting trees.”
Bond claims that city data shows that approximately 30,000 trees were cut down in the past 20 years.
The tree ordinance was in place for more than 20 year.
This is especially urgent. We need trees to survive! Add to that, all the other issues, public safety and infrastructure, are very important and urgent issues, but trees are essential for our survival.
The current rules state that a tree can be cut down for $100 plus $30 per inch. The city leaders claim the fee is too low and not fair. Bond claims that fees for larger development projects should be higher.
The fees are paid to a fund that plants trees in the city. However, conservationists feel the pace of this happening is too slow.
Monday’s new council meetings will discuss the removal of the flat fee for cutting and incentivize ways that they can be avoided.
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