Court Decision on Tree Ordinance

As reported earlier, developer Louis Reynaud appealed to Fulton County Superior Court to overturn the decision against him by the Atlanta Tree Conservation Commission. The Commission had supported the North Buckhead Civic Association's appeal against Reynaud's tree replacement plan for the Peachtree Gardens subdivision at North Ivy Road and Mountain Drive. Under the plan rejected by the Tree Commission, some 62% of the trees on the site would be lost.

Judge Bensonetta Tipton Lane has ruled in Reynaud's favor. She struck down portions of the Atlanta Tree Ordinance as unconstitutionally vague in requiring "minimal disturbance to the natural topography". The court observed that the Tree Commissioners themselves expressed a variety of opinions about the meaning of "minimal disturbance" in the April 1999 Peachtree Gardens appeal hearing. The court also noted that in the April hearing that expert testimony in support of the project was provided by two professional arborists and that no expert testimony against the project was provided by the neighborhood. The City had argued that the Commissioners themselves were experts (architects, etc.) and could make expert judgments based upon the raw facts presented at the hearing -- the judge didn't agree.

While the City could appeal this decision, we are aware of no plans for it to do so. Accordingly, it is expected that the City will issue Reynaud a building permit and that construction will start on the "phase 1" portion.

One upbeat decision was made last week regarding the Tree Ordinance: John Bell, secretary of Atlanta's Zoning Review Board, provided a strong written opinion that the Tree Ordinance does indeed apply to "Planned Development" zoned projects. Previously, Planned Development projects had not been required to prepare a tree replacement plan and tree survey. [There are a number of Planned Developments in North Buckhead. Olde Wieuca Mill, off of Wieuca Road near Loridans, is an example.]