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Athens
is a city of trees. From the early forest of .mag
nificent oaks that flourished in this region when
European settlers first arrived, to the dogwoods and ginkgoes that
grace the city streets today, much of Athens' character has been
shaped by trees.
To a large extent, we take them for granted—the stately old
oaks around white-columned mansions; the poplars, sweet gums and
maples in neighborhood yards; the cedars and pines of country
fields; the sycamores, river birches and beeches that shade creeks
and streams. Athens' trees are the defining features of our land
scape, providing beauty, wildlife habitat and invaluable environ
mental benefits in both urban and rural areas of the county.
But as Athens continues to grow, more and more tree-covered
areas are being replaced by pavement and buildings. Too many
pieces of land, covered in foliage one day, are clear cut and shaved
down to barren red clay by the next—with no apparent effort to
save even one or two trees. Apartment complexes, superstores, and
subdivisions proliferate—and woods disappear or become increas
ingly fragmented and patchy.
A forest cover analysis conducted recently by the Athens-Clarke
County Community Tree Council shows that tree cover in the
county decreased by approximately five percent from 1980 to
2000. "That's important," says Bob Barker, a consulting
forester and chair of the Council, "partly because in the several
decades before that, the tree cover had increased substantially.
So these results strongly suggest a flattening if not reversal of
the trend."
And Athens is not alone. A recent study by the U.S. Forest
Service and other federal agencies estimates that urban develop
ment in Georgia and other Southern states will lead to the loss of
31 million acres of wooded land in the next four decades, posing
serious threats to water quality, air quality and wildlife. Some envi
ronmental groups have called this estimate low.
So as the inevitable growth and changes come, who's looking
out for Athens' trees? What kind of legal protections do they have?
How safe and healthy are the older trees in town and in neighbor
hoods? And are the woods that remain in rural areas of the county
doomed to disappear—to be cut or bulldozed or fragmented to
death?
Gone With The Wind
When two large pieces of land along Barnett Shoals Road were
cleared last fall to make way for apartment complexes, more than a
few Athenians said they were appalled at the complete loss of trees
on those sites.
"I was shocked," says Muriel Pritchett, a resident of east
Athens. "One day there were all these trees—and the next day,
they were just gone. It seems to me they could have saved at least
one or two."
And when the trees in another large area along Rocksprings Road
were removed to clear a site for the Athens Housing Authority, the
cries of protest became louder—including an editorial in the Athens
Banner Herald headlined, "If government doesn't value our trees,
why should developers?"
Tenth district Commissioner Cardee Kilpatrick may have voiced
the feelings of many Athenians when she said, "I did not think
someone could still do this. I thought those days were over. I didn't
think our new zoning code allowed clear-cutting."
"BUILDERS DO WHAT IS EASY FOR THEM. AND IT'S
EASIER TO BUILD ON A COMPLETELY CLEARED SITE
Athens-Clarke County does not have a tree ordinance. When the
county's new land use plan was adopted a little over a year ago, it
included regulations in the development code that lequire certain
amounts of tree canopy cover in certain kinds of new developments.
But the regulations do not protect existing trees in either urban or
rural areas.
"The development regulations don't really require tree protec-
tior.," explains Roger Cauthen, head of the ACC Landscape
Management Division. "They require that tree canopy be considered
in a new development. A site could still be completely cleared of
trees, as long as there is a plan filed and approved and the canopy
cover requirements are met [by planting new trees]."
Sixth district Commissioner Carl Jordan says he has tried to
introduce tree-protection measures to the ACC Commission, but his
proposal has been ignored. "Absolutely nothing happened with the
tree ordinance I proposed," he says. "It was sent to all the
Commissioners and they considered it so irrelevant, they didn't so
much as humor me."
A tree ordinance has long been considered politically impossible
in Athens.
"Back in the '80s, before unification, the advisory group was
called the Athens Tree Board," recalls Barker. "A proposal to estab
lish a tree ordinance in 1990 was met with strong community oppo
sition, and the proposal was soundly defeated, as was the Tree
Board. After unification, the Commission established the Urban Tree
Advisory Committee, in an advisory capacity for public trees only."
But recent developments seem to be making "tree ordinance"
something less of a dirty word. Following the land clearing on
Barnett Shoals Road and Rocksprings, ninth district Commissioner
Tom Chasteen said, "Apparently we do not have an adequate amount
of protection for trees now. I think, given recent experiences, that
we do need to consider a tree ordinance, if we can get one that will
accomplish the protections we want, but at the same time not
stymie the interests of private landowners."
And eighth district Commissioner States McCarter said, "I
am concerned that we still have clear cutting as we recently
*» had on Barnett Shoals Road. Our new development regulations
• do little to stop the loss of large trees at construction sites. I
wish we had more incentive for keeping established trees
rather than simply allowing replanting to achieve a specified canopy
coverage. Builders do what is easy for them, and it's easier to build
on a completely cleared site... I am inclined to support the idea of
a carefully written tree ordinance."
No Protection
Athens-Clarke County gives no specific protection to trees.
Canopy cover regulations in the development code require a cer
tain amount of tree canopy cover in eleven zoning categories, but
they do not prohibit the removal of existing trees, or even clear-
cutting a site.
8 FLAGP0LE.COM • JANUARY 16, 2002
PHOTOS BY BRAD AARON