Tree Protection in DeKalb County, GA (2026)
3 rules for unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia.
Verified from official government sources
Heritage & Protected Trees
DeKalb protects large 'specimen' trees, hardwoods and pines 30 inches DBH or more, or historically significant smaller trees, which the county arborist must identify and clear before any are altered or removed on a development site.
DeKalb County Specimen Tree Protection Standards
Significant RestrictionsDeKalb County Code § 14-39(g)(8)b
Standards for the identification, preservation, and protection of specimen trees shall be as follows: Any tree in fair or better condition which equals or exceeds the following diameter sizes:1.Large hardwoods, i.e. oaks, hickories, yellow poplars, and similar species: Thirty (30) inches DBH.2.Large softwoods, e.g. pines, evergreens, and similar species: Thirty (30) inches DBH.3.Small trees, e....
Protected Tree Species
DeKalb County's tree ordinance protects trees by size rather than species. Under § 14-1, any existing, healthy, living tree measuring eight inches DBH or greater is a 'significant tree,' and § 14-39(g)(1) requires development sites to preserve either 120 inches of DBH per acre or 25 percent of existing significant trees per acre, whichever is less.
DeKalb County Protected Significant Tree Rule
Some RestrictionsDeKalb County Code § 14-1 (definitions); § 14-39(g)(1)
Significant tree means any existing, healthy, living tree eight (8) inches DBH or greater in size... If significant trees exist on a tract of land for which a permit subject to this section is sought, either one hundred twenty (120) inches (DBH) per acre or twenty-five (25) percent of existing significant trees per acre of such significant trees, whichever is less, shall be preserved on the site.
Parkway Planting
New commercial, office and industrial developments in unincorporated DeKalb, plus denser residential projects, must plant street trees and a landscape strip along new or widened roads per the county's Chapter 27 design standards.
DeKalb County Street Tree Planting Standards
Some RestrictionsDeKalb County Code § 14-39(k)
(k)Street trees. Street trees and continuous landscape strips shall be provided, in conformance with the design requirements specified in Chapter 27 of the DeKalb County Code of Ordinances, along newly constructed streets, and along existing streets which are widened or realigned subsequent to the adoption of this ordinance, in all office, commercial, and industrial developments and along newly...
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