Peachtree City homeowners won't have to worry about coughing up $25 for a permit if they want to cut down several trees on their property.

The fee was eliminated from the proposed tree preservation ordinance, which was approved at Thursday night's City Council meeting.

Homeowners will still have to apply for a tree removal permit with the city's building department so code enforcement officers can inspect the site before the trees are removed. The permit will not be necessary for trees under three caliper inches in size, according to the ordinance.

The city has required tree removal permits for years as a policy, said CIty Planner David Rast, but now that requirement is part of a city ordinance. The ordinance does not restrict how many trees a resident can cut down, nor what types of trees may be cut.

In some cases, after reviewing trees that are proposed to be cut down, staff may try and convince homeowners to keep a tree here and there if they are healthy, but there is no way they can stop a homeowner from cutting down any tree, Rast noted.

One reason for the ordinance is to create a way to track tree removal companies to help protect residents, Rast said. It requires tree removal companies to be bonded and insured and have a city occupational (business) license.

Some unscrupulous companies and individuals, after being paid in advance, have hauled off timber from some sites while leaving branches and other debris behind for the homeowner to remove, Rast noted.

The city also issued a stop work order on one company that removed trees which fell on homes because it didn't have insurance, Rast said, adding that it was difficult for city staff to track that company down.

The ordinance also requires landscaping guarantees from developers, which have been required in the past through conditions on site plan approvals issued by the planning commission, Rast said. Those and other similar conditions typically used for landscaping were wrapped into the ordinance so they, too, would be easier to enforce, he added.