Atlanta City Council may take a harder look at the city’s tree ordinance in the new year, after the Planning Department has taken longer than expected to update the rule.
The tree ordinance protects big trees on private property and sets standards for when they can be cut, but many people say it doesn’t do enough to protect Atlanta’s tree canopy. Atlanta officials have said they have a goal of 50% canopy cover. According to a 2014 analysis, the city was at 47 percent; not far from the goal, but it’s a 5-year-old number in a time of booming development.
For years, the city has said it would work on an update to the ordinance. Several years ago, it started one, then dropped the project. This year, the Planning Department started again, as part of its larger urban ecology project.
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