Decatur A Tree City Again

Decatur is known as a tree-lovin' city.

Now it's official -- for the second time. Decatur has again been named a "Tree City" by a program sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service and the Georgia Forestry Commission.

As the Decatur Minute noted,

To qualify as a Tree City USA, a town or city must meet four standards.

1. A Tree Board or Department
2. A Tree Care Ordinance
3. A Community Forestry Program With an Annual Budget of at Least $2 Per Capita
4. An Arbor Day Observance and Proclamation

And speaking of tree ordinances, the city wants public imput on a proposed change to the current law. There's an online survey on this question:

To what extent do you support or oppose changing the City’s tree ordinance to regulate the removal of healthy trees of a minimum size (e.g., 6” caliper) on existing single family properties where such trees do not interfere with permitted building improvements?

As of Friday night, 83 people had made statements to support their positions. You can read their comments online. Here's a taste of the comments.

Supporter of proposal: Trees are coming down like crazy in Decatur. We need to protect ourselves from becoming another barren suburb and our quality of life.

An opponent: It's my property. If I want to remove a tree for any reason that's my business. This is Decatur: not California, not Dunwoody, not a cookie cutter subdivision with a home owner's bored. Oops, I mean board.

You have until 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, to vote.