As announced of Monday, Decatur’s new tree ordinance is now the law of the land.

There are many changes to the ordinance, but the first one to be aware of is that you now need to register tree removal with the city by applying and receiving a free permit.  You can apply for a permit online HERE.

The city’s dedicated webpage on the new ordinance contains a lot of info on the intricacies of the new ordinance, but here’s their high-level summary…

According to the Tree Canopy Conservation Ordinance, property owners in residential zoning districts are allowed to remove up to 3 healthy, protected trees during an 18 month period. A tree information permit shall be filed with the City to track the reasons for the tree removal, the amount of tree canopy removed and a plan for replanting if applicable. No recompense or replanting is required if only 3 trees are removed within the 18 month period. 

Note that residential zoned properties that are pending real estate sale or title transfer, have been sold or title transferred in the past 18 months, are pending demolition, or have had a dwelling on the site that has been demolished in the past 18 months, are subject to the tree removal permit requirements and must comply with the tree conservation plan required.

The Decatur City Commission passed the revised tree ordinance in a 5-0 vote last night.  The ordinance promotes a “no net loss” of the city’s current 45% canopy coverage.  

Under the new ordinance, residents will be allowed to remove up to three 6-inch diameter trees every 18 months without incurring a penalty, though owners will be required to file a free informational permit so the city can track canopy changes.  It’s a complicated ordinance, but highlights include a “no net loss” requirement is triggered when a land disturbance permit is filed and the replanting requirement is triggered when impervious coverage is increased on a lot by 15% or more. 

In remarks prior to the vote, Mayor Baskett noted the fact that the City Commission meeting room was less crowded then earlier this year when the first version came up for a vote.  “The fact that this room is not full of people tonight may be construed as we wore people down. It may be construed, as the fact, that we’ve addressed a lot of the issues people had and they didn’t feel as strongly about it.”  He continued, “We’re not going to make people happy that wanted to see something much, much stronger.  We’re not going to make people happy who want government to stay out of their lives.”  He also reiterated his personal experience with a border tree nearly being cut down adjacent to his property and his desire for revised border tree regulation.

Commissioner Patti Garrett noted that she believed they had addressed many of residents’ concerns, including that there’s no longer a canopy goal of 55% for every lot when something is done to a property, there are now incentives to replant, and there is double canopy coverage for specimen trees.

Commissioner Scott Drake closed out the commission’s comments on the subject saying that “we need to trust our neighbors, and talk to our neighbors.  Tell them what we’re doing, ask them what their input is.”  He continued “It is a confusing new ordinance, so there’s going to be an education that needs to happen.  I think the arborist is going to be busy answering questions and trying to put this in a digestible package for people who are looking to do projects.”  He went on to express hope that the arborist would continually flag any inefficiencies in the process and that the commission would make changes in the future if issues were identified.  The Mayor concurred on this point.

Decaturish also has a good article on the topic this morning.  You can review the full ordinance HERE and you can view this portion of the Commission meeting HERE (click on Item V and VI A)

The effective date of the revised ordinance is Monday, July 7th.

As previously reported, the revised update to Decatur’s Tree Ordinance is scheduled for a vote this coming Monday.  You can view the full ordinance HERE.  A letter from City Planning Director Amanda Thompson to the City Manager summarizes the 9 month effort and the major points of this version of the ordinance.

Chadwick Stogner writes in…

We finished up the tree planting initiative this weekend, which was very successful for a first year effort with only several weeks of planning.

Due to some conflicts that arose with participants and the Decatur Garden Tour, we scaled back the events over this past weekend and focused on getting root balls in the ground. We are starting to prepare for next years event by tweaking the event schedule and starting earlier. We found most people who bought trees had been planning to plant already, and took advantage of the great selection and pricing that was offered.

We were able, however, to squeeze in several fun tree related events to close out this years festival:

• Lori Nichols, who drew the tree for our logo, read her new book Maple (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqHXHjPPcK0) at Little Shop of Stories and Claremont Elementary School to kick off the week.
• Remember the Black Walnut Tree From Decatur Presbyterian ( http://www.decaturmetro.com/2012/06/08/god-furniture-and-guts-the-treecycling-story-of-the-old-black-walnut-at-decatur-presbyterian-church/) ? Well the wood cured out nicely, and my good friend Charles Gamble made a simple cross from some of the wood for Dr. Todd Speed and his congregation that was presented during their Sunday Morning service.
• Another round of tree recycling was attempted on the infamous White Oak from Melrose Place.  Using a 6 foot chainsaw and a portable band saw the wood was quartered and put onto the mill. This old oak was intended to be recycled into rafter boards to restore an historic Decatur house. The wood proved to be almost completely unsuitable for structural or woodworking uses – highlighting the downside of processing urban wood – due to a dry rot and staining from lots and lots of metal imbedded in the trunk over the years.

All and all, we really think a strong foundation has been laid for a quality event that will grow each year, and benefit the Decatur community and our Tree Canopy.

We would like to especially thank our Curators: Deanna Pope-Ozio, Ryan Gainey, Cooper Sanchez, and Cheryl Melton as well as our sponsors: Intown Wholesale Nursery, Heirloom Tree and Garden , Keller Knapp Realty, Elegant Earth, and Fred Boykin – City Commissioner ( District 1 ) – for making this 1st years festival such a success!

See you Next Year.

The city is asking for feedback on the updated tree ordinance on Open City Hall.  You have between now and May 2nd to submit your opinion.  Here’s the intro from the Open City Hall forum…

The City of Decatur has released an updated draft of the Tree Conservation Ordinance, and we are coming back to you for feedback. Based on concerns voiced by the community, the City Commission requested that the ordinance proposed on January 21, 2014 be revised and brought back for consideration at a later date. A summary of the process was posted to the Decatur Minute blog in February. You can also see the Open City Hall topic here.

UPDATED Ordinance Materials:

• Updated Tree Conservation Ordinance draft
• Summary of Changes to Tree Ordinance
• Trees! Work Session Presentation April 2014

Feedback on the new ordinance will be accepted through May 2. Comments will be summarized and presented to the City Commission at a work session on Monday, May 5th. The Commission will then decide if they would like to make further amendments to the proposed ordinance.