Atlanta committee hears hours of testimony on tree protection ordinance; item held for further testing

The Community Development & Human Services Committee on May 13 heard more than 50 members of the public testify about a proposed Tree Protection Ordinance and then voted to hold the item for further review.

The substitute brought forward at the meeting would advance parts of the May 1 draft TPO while the Department of City Planning continues testing the ordinance against the city’s zoning rewrite. Committee Chair Jason H. Winston said several draft elements require further alignment with zoning, and members voted to hold the item pending that testing.

The issue drew hours of public comment with speakers split between stronger tree protections and concerns that the ordinance, as drafted, would make new housing economically unworkable. “It is time for us to rethink and change not just the Atlanta tree protection ordinance, but the very way that we develop our city,” said Terry Nye, a registered landscape architect who described climate and storm impacts as a rationale for stronger protections. Developers and industry representatives warned that preservation standards, higher recompense…