Developer hit with maximum penalty after taking down huge, historic Atlanta trees

[North Beach Person]

A guy here did the same thing and got hammered (old growth cypress trees in a protected area). He blamed his contractor, contractor produced documents with the description of what was to be cut.

End result for the developer was the suspension of all his permits for five years, big fine from both the County and the State and he had to build a $3M road for the County as partial mitigation.

[netdragon]

You know, those big trees can be annoying. A tenant of mine told me that city code enforcement was asking him about a tree branch from a boundary tree overhanging someone else's house. The tenant enlightened him that the tree wasn't on my property but on the neighbor's property. So code enforcement shuffled off before I had to deal with them and educate them a little.

Cobb preserves trees, but it doesn't require trees threatening peoples' homes. In less dense areas, they may make 1/2 acre of a lot protected tree area. Like in my 3/4 acre lot in West Cobb I just bought, about 2/3 of it is protected tree area and I'll have to wheel and deal with the county to thin out even part of the remaining 2/3 of my lot, at great cost to me. However, in dense areas like Smyrna, they still have ways to do it without threatening homes. They usually have to leave some mature trees, but not right on peoples' lots since the lots are too small. Usually, the developer has to crunch everything in a little more to make more common area for the subdivision so they can have protected tree areas (usually ceded to the city or added to the amenities land). They have to have additional space to replace a % of trees they cut down with non-mature trees (since the 1-2 on each lot isn't enough). If the developer didn't think about this in advance, they lose a home or two in their subdivision and have to redo their drainage patterns. You still end up with a canopy that way.

If you look at a map, you typically see tree buffers between subdivisions because of this. Those buffers tend to be indelible, part of the subdivision, but not threatening peoples' homes.

Of course, Atlanta doesn't have the luxury of being able to plan the new streets going in with the developers, since there are no new streets going in, typically. More like the older subdivisions in Smyrna like Smyrna Heights where the tree buffers are on peoples' lots, however with everything but Buckhead in Atlanta typically being smaller lots than the older neighborhoods in Smyrna (the older neighborhoods tend to have the largest lots, versus the reverse in Atlanta) which creates the problem of the branches of huge trees in older parts of Atlanta being right over peoples' homes since there is no where else for them.

[red92s]

Originally Posted by netdragon

To put it another way, someone's slush fund just lost 10k and they are not getting a new ski boat They will feel it.

With those trees out of the way.... How many additional square feet do they need to build between the three lots to double or triple their money on those tree fines? New construction is selling for $220 per square foot, and now they can add garages and get closer to the allowble lot coverage. Like I said, they should be made to stick to the root protection zones they'd need to adhere to if the trees were not removed, otherwise this is an incentive not a deterrent.

God to see you found a way to complement yourself on the jumbo loan. Once again, you never miss an opportunity to point out your high station in life.

[SavannahLife]

A developer here in Savannah actually passed out material citing studies that showed in residential subdivisions, keeping large trees, as well as building premium houses, actually resulted in higher net (!) profit for the overall subdivision.

I will second what you all said, there is good development and bad development. I'd rather live next to a nice neighborhood with old trees preserved. I'd pay more for that. I did, actually. Several times. Red92s good post about root zones. Has to be inspected and enforced though. Fund inspection from fines. Much stiffer fines.

I invest in various things too btw Gordon Gekko, with generous long profits to date, both before and after recession, and had enough fluid to avoid house PMI and all that.

Atlanta and Georgia I'll say it again, great place to live. All the trees and historic architecture and bones of the cities in the state. We can indeed build modern cores, strategically without sacrificing the tree-lined historic main streets and old lots, if we decide that this is a value.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by SavannahLife

...We can indeed build modern cores, strategically without sacrificing the tree-lined historic main streets and old lots, if we decide that this is a value.

This. Amen.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by SavannahLife

A developer here in Savannah actually passed out material citing studies that showed in residential subdivisions, keeping large trees, as well as building premium houses, actually resulted in higher net (!) profit for the overall subdivision.

I will second what you all said, there is good development and bad development. I'd rather live next to a nice neighborhood with old trees preserved. I'd pay more for that. I did, actually. Several times. Red92s good post about root zones. Has to be inspected and enforced though. Fund inspection from fines. Much stiffer fines.

I invest in various things too btw Gordon Gekko, with generous long profits to date, both before and after recession, and had enough fluid to avoid house PMI and all that.

Atlanta and Georgia I'll say it again, great place to live. All the trees and historic architecture and bones of the cities in the state. We can indeed build modern cores, strategically without sacrificing the tree-lined historic main streets and old lots, if we decide that this is a value.

SavannahLife,

We are going to mandate that you move to Atlanta. Savannah will be fine.

[SavannahLife]

Why thank you, that is very nice of you to say. If I were to live in a big city anywhere in the US, I think ATL would be it. When considering and balancing everything. For me, now, I am happily bound to Sav. for quite some time. Hmm... Can I entice any of you all that like these kinds of things to move down here, perhaps?

[SavannahLife]

I also wanted say, I've observed that even the most conservative folks that want to allow developers to clearcut anywhere and everywhere.. go to "heck now, Not in My Back Yard" when it comes to their house/neighborhood. Everyone wants trees in their own yard and for backyard privacy. Interesting how that works!