About Atlanta senior life. (Sandy Springs, GA) 2016-2023 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 2022)
Kicking the Can When Money magazine recently listed Atlanta as the “best place to live in the U.S.,” it noted, among other assets, the city’s tree-lined streets and its arboreal canopy, described as being, “so dense it’s been nicknamed ‘the city in a forest.’” Pro-growth boosters brag about our tree canopy, while they are often the same people opposing meaningful improvements to the city’s tree protection ordinance. The Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association is particularly vocal in its opposition to tree protection efforts. Its leaders complain about red tape and citizen appeals, while declaring they will experience economic hardship — that development in the city will stop — if any trees are protected. I’m still laughing. We do not have to choose between trees and homes. We can and must have both. More than twenty years ago, the Atlanta City Council passed a tree ordinance to protect our city in a forest, that source of civic pride. Since at least 2014, if not before, it’s been clear to anyone paying attention that this ordinance is not working. For the past eight years — under three city administrations — citizens, tree advocates, developers, bureaucrats, and elected officials have met, argued, and drafted proposals to overhaul the tree ordinance, currently little more than a pay- to-play operation. There has been no progress toward greater protection. Tree advocates tell me that homebuilder representatives have routinely roadblocked efforts to develop consensus, yet offer no constructive suggestions. Kicking the can down the road is a favorite ploy of those who simply want to continue business as usual and avoid taking responsibility. Atlanta’s tree ordinance “can” is so dented from delay and obfuscation that it’s barely kickable. The Dickens Administration Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has been in office less than a year and his plate has been full. He largely inherited this embarrassing failure to conduct what should be routine administrative work: fixing a city ordinance that governs a program essential to Atlanta’s brand and prosperity. Since Dickens was inaugurated, his staff has secured agreement on a half dozen tweaks to the ordinance, currently before the city council. This is a good step that should be supported, but it’s only a baby step. To quote Martin Luther King, Jr.: “This is no time to... take the tranquilizing drug of incrementalism.” Dickens recently appointed Jaynee Prince to head the city’s planning department. With her past connections to the development community, she may know the players in the tree protection landscape, which could be helpful. Prince should reach out to Chandra Farley, the city’s new chief sustainability officer, to engage her department’s expertise in climate solutions for drafting a new tree ordinance. The biggest question for me, as I continue to rake the falling leaves, is whether Atlanta’s elected leaders will finally take responsibility. Are they willing to pass a strong, enforceable measure to save more of our leafy companions? Or, will they join their recent predecessors as a “nod squad” for developer rule? r LOVE ATLANTA? THEN HELP GIVE EVERYONE A REASON TO LOVE IT. #TogetherATL Community, Foundation for Greater Atlanta" <» Learn more at cfgreateratlanta.org/togetheratl A reorgta vnmitoloay^r SKIN CANCER CENTER New patients, patient referrals & most insurance plans accepted Conyers Office: 1349 Milstead Rd Conyers, GA 770.785.7546 GENERAL, SURGICAL & COSMETIC DERMATOLOGY Skin Cancer • Mole Removal • Skin Exams • Mohs Surgery • Botox Michael Sharkey, MD John Fountain. MD Darryl Hodson. MD Ryan Rogers, MD Jennifer Millsap, PA-C Jeff Moulton, PA-C Katharine Simmon, PA-C Griffin Office: 656 South 8th St Griffin, GA 770.228.2824 Roswell Office: 415 E. Crossville Rd Roswell, GA WE'RE THE HEART OF Visit us online for an office near you! GADERM.COM AtlantaSeniorLife.com DECEMBER 20221 ATLANTA SENIOR LIFE 13
