Wednesday, March 17, 2010
News Time and Place: Broken hearts
Posted by TL Pixley on Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 3:53 PM
"It happened on St. Valentines Day," says Teri Stewart, an organizer who's working to preserve the green space at DeKalb and Gordon Avenues where hearts suddenly appeared over X's on trees. "I don't know who did it, but I think it was done to protest the clear cutting for new condos. And to show that there are a lot of treehuggers who object to cutting trees in a healthy green space."
The lot — which is actually two separate, privately owned pieces of land — is one of the last green spaces on DeKalb Avenue. The lot has been somewhat controversial. After finding out that the space was up for sale to develop as condos, area residents tried to raise funds to purchase the property and preserve the space as a park. They were unable to raise the cash and are now in litigation with the city of Atlanta, says Stewart, who's representing the DeKalb residents in the lawsuit. The lawsuit argues that the city didn't uphold its tree protection ordinance and is knowingly non-compliant with state and federal laws concerning the protection of a wildlife habitat. Stewart and others have now been fighting for six years to preserve the lot as open green space.
"We love our trees, we love our oxygen and we love our wildlife," Stewart says. "We have documented that it is an established wildlife space and there is no demand for new condo developments on DeKalb Avenue. As a matter of fact, the development one half block away is currently in foreclosure."
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
Comments (1)
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Appeal the tree removal permit for the Dekalb site! The city's tree protection ordinance has a weak but not entirely impotent clause that forbids removal of mature trees in setback unless required for ingress (ie a driveway). Assuming these trees are in the setback area of the lot, you have a very strong case. Use the ordinance, file an appeal with the Tree Commission - but do it on time and on the correct form - and make them uphold the protection. Cost about $70 when I did it several years ago (and won, saving several large trees). If the commission don't uphold the ordinance - and all the decent commissioners quit a few years ago, so it's anyone's guess - you'd have to be ready to take the city to superior court. That would be costly in legal fees, but if the developer is anxious to move ahead he might negotiate a compromise.
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