Atlanta's Tree Protection Ordinance (TPO) has been rewritten by the Department of City Planning, and the most recent draft, released at the end of January, is rapidly heading toward an April 2025 City Council vote. While some changes in this draft are positive and potentially could save more trees than our current TPO, other changes have seriously weakened the Tree Ordinance. In early February 2025, the City held a webinar about several proposed ordinances (the new TPO starts at minute 10:30), including the companion Administrative Variance Ordinance, but they did not clarify how some of the changes may actually harm the tree canopy. 

To ensure the community was fully informed, Trees Atlanta hosted its own webinar on February 25. In their meeting, Trees Atlanta urged attendees to write the City and request several changes to the latest TPO draft, changes that are supported by all members of the tree advocacy caucus of the 2024 Tree Ordinance Rewrite Working Group.  Among the key fixes recommended by this group are:

1. Don’t Deplete the Tree Trust Fund to Fund Additional Staff and Tree Maintenance: The Tree Trust fund consists of recompense fees to replant trees that have been removed and to purchase forested land in Atlanta for permanent conservation. However, the new TPO allows this fund to now be used to fund 20 arborists' salaries and all public tree maintenance. Not only will these additional allocations drain the fund, but it creates a major conflict of interest to require city arborists to approve tree removals in order to generate recompense fees to fund their salaries. See Slide 26 for more information.
   
   
2. Fix Developer Discounts for Affordable Housing: Recompense discounts for including affordable housing should better align with the actual percentage of affordable units. In the new TPO, the discounts are far too generous, allowing developments to remove trees with a complete waiver of all recompense fees when only a portion of the project is considered "affordable". We recommend that the recompense fee discount reflect the share of the development that is designated as affordable housing. See Slide 28 for more information.
   
   
3. Replant Destroyed Public Trees: The new TPO lets the Parks Department offset tree replanting with "equivalent spending" on other forestry projects instead of actually replanting trees. This trades tree replacement for maintenance, which is unacceptable.  While we realize the difficulties in replacing remove publictrees inch-per-inch, as required in the current TPO, removed public trees should be replaced at least with one tree for each one removed, the and remaining recompense for unplanted inches be paid into the Tree Trust Fund. See Slide 27 for more information.
   
   
4. Restore the 10% Limit on Stream and Wetland Buffer Tree Removal: This 10% limit has been in place since 2000 but was removed in the latest TPO draft. A stream buffer variance alone is not protective enough without a 10% removal limit, particularly in floodplains. This is a huge issue for neighborhoods affected by flooding, especially those near Peachtree Creek.  See Slide 30 for more information.
   
   
5. Make All Permits Appealable: The proposed TPO exempts landscaping permits on public property from appeals, creating a loophole that allows the City to cut trees without following the ordinance.  See Slide 30 for more information.
   

While not technically a "fix" since it's required in both the current and proposed TPO, Trees Atlanta is also urging the City to reinstate the quarterly tree reports. The City stopped publishing them at the end of 2023, intending to replace them with a new "interactive dashboard"—which was never released. Now, over a year later, we have no updated data on tree loss. Please insist that the City resume publishing these reports and provide any missing quarters. All four quarters of 2024 are currently missing, which is especially concerning given the devastating hit our tree canopy took in 2023, particularly on commerical and multi-family properties.  

Additionally, we are concerned that removed trees no longer have to be replanted in the same NPU — both public and private trees can now be replanted elsewhere in the city, which could result in a net migration of trees from higher-cost areas to lower-cost areas. See Section 159-69 (b) of the new TPO.  We're also concerned that there is no Tree Preservation Standards outside of single-family residential in the new TPO with the exception of greenfields over 5 acres with at least 80% tree canopy. See Slides 24 and 25 for more information.

Who to Contact About the Proposed New Tree Ordinance 

Please email the following city officials and ask them for a substitute ordinance that includes the recommended changes above.  

Arborist Division: David Zaparanick, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 404-865-8489

Office of Zoning Director: Keyetta Holmes, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 404.330.6145

DCP Commissioner: Jahnee Prince, contact Nicole Jenkins at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 404-330-6037

DCP Deputy Commissioner: Janide Sidifall, contact Kina Laster This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 404-546-1965

 Department of Parks & Recreation (Parks) Commissioner: Justin Culte, contact Dereka Williams, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 404-546-6788

City Council Members: Click HERE for a list of their email addresses

Office of the Mayor Andre Dickens: LaChandra Burks, Chief Operating Officer, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; Theodis Pace, Deputy Chief of Staff, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

 

Key Dates in Tree Ordinance Passage (according to the City's webinar)

January 28, 2025:  City released their substitute Tree Protection Ordinance, which is the latest revision

Febraury and March, 2025: NPUs review and comments on the proposed TPO

March 25 or April 29, 2025: Community Development/Human Services (CD/HS) Committee
(The CD/HS Committee is responsible for the TPO. Their recommendations on the new TPO will be sent to the full City Council and then the Mayor for approval. Their next public meetings is scheduled at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, March 11.) 

April 21 or May 5, 2025:  Full City Council Vote