Save Decatur's Trees

Please come support the preservation of green space in honor of the legacy Beacon Hill community in Decatur, at the Historic Preservation Commission 6:30 p.m. at City Hall on Tuesday Feb. 24!

Call for Historic Designation of “Sacred Ground” in Downtown Decatur “This land is sacred to us because of the legacy and our forefathers and our ancestors. You can feel their spirit in it for us. The roots are not only the trees, but the people, the human roots that are fitted right here on this land," Decatur Day organizer Doris Sims Johnson. We call on the City ...

We've received some helpful clarifying information regarding the variance being voted on at the City Commission meeting. Apparently the variance request at Legacy Park for the tree ordinance is *only* with respect to the "canopy loss fee" which is a payment to the City tree bank -- in fact, the DHA is complying with plans that already have been approved. We do not want variance seekers to rely on replanting (we want developers to "plan for trees first" per the tree ordinance), but that compromise has already been struck and is not being revisited right now. We want to be accurate in our public communications, and did not mean to mislead or misinform.

To be clear, the hearing tomorrow is solely about waiving the payment and does not affect tree removal decisions.

As a reminder about the commission meetings, if you do have a public comment specific to the agenda items, you can speak during that part of the City Commission meeting. Any other unrelated comments must be given during the general public comment part of the meeting.

We hope to see many of you at the Rec Center on the 19th to support greenspace in downtown Decatur.

Hey Decatur Tree Friends,

There are two city projects that will directly affect Decatur's trees, the city's overall air quality and temperature, as well as equitable access to greenspace for those in affordable housing.

1. Legacy Park affordable housing tree variance -- hearing on Monday.

DHA would like to remove roughly 1.1 net acres of canopy without paying a canopy loss fee to build more affordable housing at Legacy, and get a variance from the tree ordinance to do so. The planning commission (nonbinding) recommends accepting the variance, but it is the City Commission who votes on it on Monday. The Tree Ordinance was meant to be abided by everyone, not contingent on what was being built and for whom.

We all strongly support affordable housing, and believe that we can do it WHILE protecting trees. Folks in affordable housing deserve green space as much or more than anyone else. There is plenty of space at Legacy to look at creative alternative designs to do BOTH. Looking at alternatives is the core approach of the tree ordinance itself, (ie "plan for trees first). This isn't an either/or situation of protecting the environment OR building affordable units -- we can do both: protect trees AND help those in affordable housing have greenery around them.

Send your comments to the City Commission or attend the hearing Monday. We know there is some sympathy to saving the trees for the residents there on the commission, and we need residents to get out and show support!

2. Save our downtown greenspace (the very last of it!)

CSD is moving forward quickly and quietly with plans to develop the only greenspace left downtown -- at Commerce and Trinity. Decaturish.com has published several op-eds about this, but we are going to need A LOT of voices to express support for saving this greenspace.

CSD hasn't released any enrollment data or held public meetings but is proceeding with design and outreach to selected persons around town.

There are many questions about why this project is moving forward in this manner. There are excellent alternative sites available, and the need for it at this time is not clear. Two years ago, CSD said there wasn't a need for this new pre-K, and enrollment has dropped since then. There's not a way to actually legally guarantee that pre-K slots go to folks who might need them most, even if they live next door. And there is much more space available on the Decatur High parking lot to expand the existing pre-K there -- more than five acres -- so that we don't have to lose our only greenspace remaining in downtown.

Access to greenspace is also a huge equity issue, and the bottom line is the voices of the people who live at Swanton Heights and the Wilson apartments should be prioritized. Again, we don't have to put equity and the environment against each other, we can, and should, do both.

If you know of anyone on the CSD or DHA board we would be interested in any insights as to what's going on behind the scenes.

You can email the school board at [email protected].

We hope to see many of you at the City Commission meeting next Monday (you can also email your public comments) and at the public meeting on Thursday the 19th when the city is taking public comment about the our public space in Decatur Square.

Well this isn’t good…