Homeowners

wanting to cut their trees down in Peachtree City may have to pay up in

the future if they can't replant them on their property.

A committee

studying tree preservation in Peachtree City is considering a new requirement

for homeowners wishing to cut down trees on their property. Homeowners

would be required to replant a certain number of trees based on how many

are cut down. If that is impossible, the homeowner may choose to pay a

per-tree dollar amount to the city that would be used in a fund to plant

more trees throughout Peachtree City.

"There's

always an opportunity for variances or ... for looking the other way,"

said Jim Williams, the city's director of developmental services. He said

the ordinance should be simple, and not "made into a constitutional

issue."

Currently,

the city's ordinances require that homeowners get permits before they

cut trees down, but unless the trees are specimen trees or a protected

species, the city can't stop a homeowner from cutting them down, said

City Planner David Rast.

"We need

to make sure we don't become the tree Nazis," said Mayor Steve Brown,

who added that the city's tree save requirements have helped make it a

desirable place to live for local residents.

Another possible

change for the future is using an arborist hired by the city to study

trees that are proposed to be cut down to make sure there is a necessity

to cut them down, such as if the tree had a disease or poses a legitimate

hazard to a nearby structure.

Rast said some

of these issues will be run by City Attorney Rick Lindsey to make sure

they are enforceable. Councilwoman Annie McMenamin said the city's history

of placing importance on saving trees may be what saves its legal stance

in court should the new regulations ever be challenged in a lawsuit.

It was also

suggested that city staff work with individual home builders to make sure

healthy trees are saved on lots where possible and to get rid of diseased

or dead trees at the sites.

The city may

also change the way permits are granted, requiring tree cutting businesses

to apply for the permit instead of the individual homeowner.

Joe Burgess,

a senior forester with the Georgia Forestry Commission, said that educating

homeowners will be key to convincing them that they don't need to cut

down healthy trees in many situations.

The committee's

recommendations are being forwarded to the ordinance clarification committee

but the tree preservation committee will have a final opportunity to tweak

it before the recommendation goes to the Planning Commission and then

the City Council.

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