City of Atlanta Arborist Division - Permit Required to Remove a Tree

ARBORIST DIVISION

The Arborist Division is responsible for reviewing and approving all building permits and tree removal plans. 

Website Link: City of Atlanta Arborist Division

Arborist Division Overview

What Does the Arborist Division Do?

The Arborist Division is charged with protecting the City’s tree canopy on private property throughout the City of Atlanta.  Protecting and permitting the removal of trees can be done either under a building permit or through an application to remove a dead, dying, diseased, or hazardous tree.

The division conducts building plan reviews related to trees, verifies trees to be removed and posts properties prior to tree removal under building permits (this allows the public to appeal our decisions). The Arborist Division also inspects dead, dying, diseased and hazardous trees, investigates illegal tree destruction or removal, presents tree related cases to the Tree Conservation Commission, and inspects properties before Final Certificate of Occupancy (CO) certificates are issued. 

How the Arborist Division Meets Its Objectives?

The Tree Ordinance provides for the preservation, establishment, and maintenance of the tree canopy on public and private land in the City of Atlanta by prohibiting the destruction and removal of trees except as allowed in the articles of the ordinance. 

Tree ordinance enforcement is intended to protect and preserve trees.  The ordinance allows for enforcement through an array of tools such as: Correction Notices (verbal or written, to correct practices that are detrimental to a tree’s health and or its structural integrity); Silvicultural Prescriptions (required remedial actions such as fertilizing, pruning, soil amendments and treatments, pest management, etc); Stop Work Orders (to prevent /minimize further tree impact and for corrective actions to be taken to save the tree); Tree Save Fences (to keep construction and other activities out of the tree’s Root Save Area); issuance of Illegal Tree Removal/Destruction Recompense citations; and Five-year survivability reports, among others.  Any one or a combination of the above tools can be implemented by a field arborist to save or preserve trees. 

What Actions AreTaken by the Arborist Division?

The steps for an illegal tree destruction action vary depending on the level and stage of destruction of the tree.  The steps/tools for resolution in order of severity are: verbal correction notice; written correction notice; illegal tree removal citation. Enforcement is handled on a case-by-case basis, as some instances may warrant immediate issuance of a citation or both correction notices and citations. 

The issuance of illegal destruction or illegal removal citations do not correlate directly or indirectly with saving and preserving trees. Citations are used as a last resort or in situations where trees are damaged beyond repair.  The issuance of citations allows for the collection of recompense and penalty fees. These monies are used to replant trees on both public and private property.

Effective July 1, 2009

Who is the Arborist in my neighborhood?

Area 1: Michael Franklin, 404.330.6079 

Area 2: David Tachon, 404.330.6077 

Area 3: Stan Domengeaux, 404.330.6078 

Area 4: Janell Bazile, 404.330.6071 

Area 5: Paul Lewkowicz, 404.330.6882