Woodstock Lowers Fine Issued To Company That Removed Trees Without Permit

The Woodstock City Council on Monday voted to uphold a fine issued to property owner who removed dozens of trees on land near the Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta.

The council upheld the fine against Settendown Partnerships, LLC, but reduced the amount from $52,500 to $23,142.76.

Settendown Partnership was fined after it cleared 37 protected trees from land owned by the company in December 2013. Twenty-eight trees ranging in 10 inches to 12 inches in diameter and nine trees between 13 and 16 inches in diameter were removed.

The city’s fine for removing any tree ranging in 10 to 12 inches is $1,200 and is $2,100 for the removal of trees ranging from 13 to 16 inches in diameter. Woodstock’s Tree Preservation Ordinance outlines the payment of fines for the removal of ”protected or specimen” trees without a city-issued permit.

The order, which was approved by the council during its meeting on Monday, reduced the fine per tree to $625.48, which brought the total to $23,142.76. According to the order approved by the council, state law prohibits the penalties for violating municipal ordinances from exceeding $1,000 per occurrence.

Community Development Director Jessica Guinn said the city’s tree preservation ordinance sets a required tree density per acre for properties in the city. If that density can’t be met, a developer has the option to pay what’s called a mitigation fee into the city’s Tree Preservation Fund for each tree required by the ordinance that won’t be planted.

Using the arborist’s number of trees that were cut down on the property, Woodstock calculated the fee that would have paid into the fund if Settendown had submitted a plan to just over $23,142. The fine was paid per violation, which is $625.48, Guinn stated. 

“While this is less than the maximum fine that the ordinance would allow, mayor and council determined that this was appropriate for the violation, particularly given the size and type of trees removed (30 of the 37 trees were pine, and no specimen trees were cut down),” Guinn said. “When that site develops in the future, the developer will be required to meet the full tree density requirement on the site and to come fully into compliance with the Tree Preservation Ordinance.”

Guinn added she expects city staff will “review our codes to ensure that the prescribed fines are in line with our other ordinances and the city charter.”

The land was the subject of a rezoning request by a company who wanted to build a Kia dealership near the outlet mall. That request was rejected in October by the council after residents in the neighboring Brookshire community expressed widespread opposition and concerns about the development’s impact to the area.

The council on Monday also approved a request from Reliable Heating & Air to rezone 10.23 acres on the south side of Highway 92 and east of Stonecroft Lane from Downtown General Commercial to General Commercial to build a new office and warehouse facility to relocate its offices.

The facility would be 57,050 square feet finished and 2,859 unfinished space. The current home of Reliable Heating and Air, which has been operating in metro Atlanta since 1978, is located at 11075 Highway 92.

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