Note: The following are brief summaries of the laws in place to protect trees near Atlanta. They may be out of date or lack details to describe your situation. If you know of any corrections or have questions, please call Boutte Tree. For a good list of contacts to find out the details in your area, go to the Arbor Atlanta website.

At Boutte Tree we are a partner in ensuring that people and trees coexist well in the city. We offer many services to planners and developers to help them incorporate existing trees into their projects. There are many examples of such responsible development, and the end result is always a quieter, cooler, more peaceful environment. We are proud to help in such efforts. Also see our arborist services.

There are other times where a tree must be removed because it cannot be incorporated into a design. We service the Atlanta area and are most familiar with the Atlanta Tree Ordinance.

City of Atlanta

The city of Atlanta has a strict tree ordinance that strives for the preservation of Atlanta’s green area. This means that for every tree that is cut down, an equal amount of green area must be replanted. Trees under 6 inches in diameter or trees that have died of natural causes or that are deemed dying or hazardous can be removed with a simple, free permit. But healthy, safe trees over 6 inches in diameter require special permits. The owner must pay recompense to the City of Atlanta to be used for the planting of additional trees, and there is a two week waiting period to allow residents to dispute the cutting of the trees. Only then can the permit be issued.

Standard recompense is calculated using the following formula:

Recompense = $100*(# trees removed – # trees replaced) + $30*(# inches removed – # inches replaced)
So if you removed ten trees with 12 inch diameters and replace them with five trees with 2.5 inch diameters (the minimum size allowed for replacement trees, with a cost of about $500 each professionally installed) then your recompense would be:

Recompense = $100*(10 – 5 = 5) + $30*(120 – 12.5 = 107.5) = $500 + $3225 = $3725

This doesn’t include the cost of the installed trees, which in this example would be around $2000. If no trees were planted as replacements in the case above, then the recompense would be $4600. It’s obvious, then, that you should plant as many trees as you can in your new landscape design as long as you really want those trees, because it’s not a very cost effective way of keeping your recompense costs low.

It’s interesting to note that if the City of Atlanta were to lower the cost of recompense to below the replacement cost for new trees, people would have a financial incentive to invest heavily in new trees, the stated goal of the tree ordinance. In theory the collected revenues from recompense go towards the planting of new trees in the city, but because so much of the city land is privately held, it would seem wise to encourage heavy planting on that land in conjuction with city land. If you have comments on this issue, or if you decide that you would like to invest in tree planting on your own land, please contact us.

Getting your City of Atlanta Permit

Contact us at Boutte Tree if you need to secure permits for tree removal. We submit dead or hazardous permit applications for free on behalf of potential clients. If such a permit is turned down, that means that in the view of the city arborist the tree is not hazardous enough to warrant removal. This decision can be appealed, but usually if you still want to cut the tree it’s best to go through the recompense process described above. Please call with additional questions. More information about the tree ordinance in Atlanta can be viewed on the Trees Atlanta website.

Frank Mobley, Senior Arborist | 404-330-6874
Arborist for the NE Quadrant | 404-330-6080
Arborist for the NW Quadrant | 404-330-6078
Arborist for the SE & SW Quadrant | 404-330-6077

Fulton County

Permit required for specimen trees only, defined as any tree with a diameter of 27″ or greater. Contact Gene Calloway at 404 730 7800.

College Park & East Point

College Park has a tree ordinance that prohibits the cutting of more that 25% of the trees on private property within a five year period. It cost $20 for a tree permit, in which you state that you intend to cut trees and that you will cut less than 25%. There is no arborist division.

Dekalb County

Dekalb County has a well-designed but complicated tree protection plan which seeks to allow homeowners some flexibility in cutting trees, but imposes strict requirements for new developments. For example, you may cut up to five trees a year on a private plot, as long as they are smaller than 30 inches in diameter, and you may cut as many trees as you like fewer than 8 inches in diameter, unless it is a precursor to earthmoving. In the case of earthmoving, which constitutes new development, a more complicated evaluation takes place, which emphasizes a certain level of tree cover for all new developments. You may not cut specimen trees in Dekalb County without a special permit.

Please call us for details, or see the following website. Call Tom Claiborne Director of Development | 404-371 -4913.

Cobb County

Cobb County has a tree ordinance in effect. You may cut trees on private property as you like, but you must replant. There is no enforcement for residential property.

Gwinnett County

In Gwinnett County it is against the law to cut trees that shelter endangered species. Other than that, there are no requirements for tree removal.

Roswell

You must obtain a permit for all trees on a one-acre or greater lot, and for all specimen trees, which are trees over 27″ in diameter.

Contact Sandra DeWitt at 770-641-3780.

Norcross

A permit is required for the removal of any tree in Norcross. The permit application must be signed by a certified arborist or forester.

Alpharetta

A permit must be obtained for the removal of any tree.

Call Kristina Eicher for more information at 678-297-6200 ext 1202.

Sandy Springs

A permit must be obtained for the removal of any tree. Contact Michael Barnett to notify him of your intentions. In the case of fallen trees or hazardous trees an attached photo may be acceptable to begin work.

Email Michael at: michael.barnett@sandyspringsga.org.