Removal:

Continued from Page 12 denials the department issues are those in which the applicant does not agree to replant trees according to code requirements.

“I think that we have a really good tree ordinance that requires a certain amount of trees off of a piece of property, so that can be a combination of tree saves as well as replant,” Community Development Director Kathi Cook said.

The department also has a requirement to save trees of quality and specimen trees, which qualify for preservation due to size, type, location, condition or historical significance, Cook said.

Community feedback

Alpharetta resident Michael Buchanan, who moved to the city in 1995, said he has witnessed many changes as the area developed and the population grew.

“When I first moved up here in ’95, then, you got off at Haynes Bridge, and it was a big lot of trees that went forever,” Buchanan said. “This was up here with horse farms and two-lane roads, and so there was a lot of grain.”

Buchanan and his girlfriend Deborah Eves, co-owners of Alpharetta Bee Company, said they are passionate about nature and trees in the city. While change is inevitable as development persists, they said they think Alpharetta is in a good place with tree preservation.

Buchanan, Eves and some of their neighbors spearheaded the Alpharetta Conservancy, an informal group seeking preservation of trees that maintain the character of their neighborhood.

Eves said she and her neighbors love to walk, and in early 2022, they noticed that some of the old oak trees on Canton Street and Shady Grove Lane were being removed.

That spring, the couple began attending meetings to ask the City Council to save the trees. Eves said Shostak and Cook joined them on walks through their neighborhood.

Then, at the Jan. 3 meeting, councilmembers passed an amendment to the Unified Development Code that protects specimen trees and trees of quality on Mayfield Road, Milton Avenue and Academy, Canton, Church, Cumming, Marietta and Roswell streets if the trees are located on building setbacks.

“They live in their neighborhoods, but they didn’t really live in our neighborhood,” Buchanan said. “And so, every day we had to get up and see it, and we had to see it face-toface, these changes.”

Eves and Buchanan said they welcome progress in the city, and they recognize that the need for tree removal as the area expands is complicated.

"I would offer that anyone who's lived in Alpharetta for a long time is probably a little bit overwhelmed with the pace of growth,” Eves said. “I don't think too many people can deny that the city has made a sincere effort to promote green spaces.”

Their mission to preserve their neighborhood did not stop there. Eves and Buchanan advocated for the City Council to approve further amendments to the Unified Development Code, which passed at the March 6 meeting, allowing neighborhoods that do not have homeowners associations to adopt standards to prevent incompatible development.

Buchanan said he hopes the city will emphasize the balance between tree preservation and removal moving forward, and he and Eves intend on meeting with the Natural Resources Commission and continuing their efforts.

Ahead of the curve

David Long, specialist with the Northwest Georgia Forestry Commission Urban and Community Forestry division, said Alpharetta’s tree ordinance is more comprehensive than many in the state, and some municipalities do not have ordinances that are specific to trees.

“There's always room for growth, but the fact that [Alpharetta has] three arborists on staff is pretty remarkable,” Long said. The Alpharetta ordinance, he said, also addresses soil disturbance, which is groundbreaking because most local tree ordinances only focus on what is above ground.

Long said some smaller municipalities implement tree boards that make decisions a few times a year, or these cities will include a clause about trees in development ordinances. He said Alpharetta has clear definitions of prohibited and recommended practices; public trees; and tree care, removal and maintenance.

“One of the biggest environmental threats to Georgia is sedimentation to streams, and it's trying to balance all the development we're experiencing with all the soil disturbance that causes, and it's something that, in my personal opinion, is underaddressed,” Long said. “So it's kind of nice to see a city that takes that into account with their planning.”