Residents, environmental experts press council to adopt tree-protection standards; committee schedules work session

A broad coalition of residents, environmental advocates and conservation groups urged Atlanta City Council on April 21 to adopt a strengthened tree-protection ordinance that includes the planning department’s January draft preservation standard. Speakers included urban foresters, environmental lawyers, neighborhood activists and representatives of Cascade Springs Nature Conservancy.

Why it matters: Atlanta’s urban tree canopy and historic forested parcels were the focus of repeated testimony. Advocates said existing code allows effective ‘‘clear‑cutting’’ through low recompense payments and that the preservation standard would protect trees outside a home’s building footprint while still allowing construction inside the footprint.

What residents and experts said Speakers described a measurable canopy loss, referenced a 50‑year community planning history around Cascade Springs, and warned that short-term recompense payments do not replace mature trees. Environmental lawyer Chet Tisdale — who has represented developers for decades and who testified from that perspective — called the preservation standard a “win‑win” that protects landowner rights while preventing unnecessary clear-cutting. David Lloyd Davis of the Cascade Springs Nature Conservancy and other conservation leaders said the preservation standard is reasonable and necessary to protect urban old‑growth forest and watershed areas.

Council response and next steps Council member Jason Winston, who leads the Community Development and Human Services committee, said the committee will host a work session to continue the conversation and examine the January 2025 draft that contains the preservation standard; he scheduled a committee work session for May (the council published a May work session date at the end of the meeting). The committee asked planning staff and advocates to clarify how proposed recompense funds compare to market replacement costs and to explain how the standard would work in floodplains and sensitive areas.

Ending Advocates urged the council to reject a watered-down TPO. The council's scheduled work session will give staff and stakeholders more time to reconcile a standard that protects mature canopy while allowing predictable development. The committee’s follow-up will determine whether the full ordinance with the preservation standard reaches a council vote.