Comments on: Decatur City Commission Tables Proposed Tree Ordinance

By: fisbn

fisbn — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 23:24:40 +0000

these majority/minority arguments are interesting because Decatur has a population of about 20,000(give or take) and 200(again give or take )voted on the online petition and even less on here.I wonder what the outcome would be if the whole city got involved,which will never happen I guess

By: me

me — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 16:13:57 +0000

I’m no lawyer… but I did take an Agriculture Law course back in college.

As I recall, property rights flow from common law that predates the US constitution.

By: me

me — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 15:39:12 +0000

You nailed it, Brad. There is no basis for this ordinance. It is a solution for a problem that simply does not exist.

By: WP resident

WP resident — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 22:37:33 +0000

By: smalltowngal

smalltowngal — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 22:27:13 +0000

Here’s another idea for incentivizing tree conservation and engaging people in the cause: some kind of cap-and-trade system whereby a tree needing removal over here prompts a tree being planted over there. Example: I need to take out an old, unsteady tree that imperils my neighbor’s house. The only space I have for replanting is in the same spot, but I’d really like to try my hand at growing tomatoes and am willing to forego whatever incentive I would have gotten for replanting. If a neighbor has space for another tree and is willing to plant one, then they qualify to receive the incentive instead of me. See? Nobody gets bopped on the head. There’s no net loss of canopy. Ideally, the program is administered in such a way that it incorporates some kind of corny little ceremony in which the two neighbors exchange some kind of token of the whole thing. Maybe the yard with the new tree gets to display a Hometown Tree-ro sign for a period of time, or something.