Atlanta’s Committee Adopts Resolution to Adopt Goal of 50% Tree Canopy Cover Within the City

Atlanta’s Committee Adopts Resolution to Adopt Goal of 50% Tree Canopy Cover Within the City

The Community Development and Human Services Committee voted last week to approve a resolution to adopt the goal of achieving and maintaining a 50% average tree canopy cover within the City of Atlanta. The resolution also directs the department of city planning to use this goal as a guide for updates to the tree protection ordinance and to request that the department of city planning conduct a study every five (5) years to measure the tree canopy cover in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the tree protection ordinance.

While the committee did approve the resolution by a 3 to 1 vote, Councilwoman Liliana Bakhtiari mentioned a study by Georgia Tech, which should be released shortly, that will allow for the City to be more strategic in determining which areas of the city any new tree planting efforts should be completed.

The City is still reviewing additional changes to the Tree Protection Ordinance as well as changes to the recompense fees currently charged in the City.