Brookhaven, GA Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)

The City Council of the City of Brookhaven, Georgia declares in Section 14-47 that specimen trees are unique and not fungible, and Section 14-52 backs that finding with credits and fees. A specimen tree preserved with less than 20 percent critical root zone impact and zero impact to the structural root plate earns a density or canopy cover credit of one and one-half by DBH inches or area. At 20 to 33 percent impact the tree needs an arborist prescription approved by the City Tree Canopy Preservation Manager to earn the same credit.

Removing a specimen tree outside the buildable limits and side setback area requires recompense at one and one-half by DBH inches, while the multiplier does not apply inside the buildable limits. The recompense fee is $240.00 per DBH inch by one and one-half outside those limits and $120.00 per DBH inch inside them, and the inches subject to the fee for a permitting lot cannot exceed 300 inches per acre. Payment goes to the tree fund when the Manager agrees the replacement trees will not fit on site, and it is due within 180 days of the notice of approval and before the permit issues.

If a specimen tree comes down without a permit, the fees are due within 180 days of service of the court summons or citation, and the responding officer averages the diameter measurements of the remaining stump to set the DBH. Champion trees, defined in Section 14-50 as trees listed on or pending recognition for the Atlanta Champion Tree List, get the highest protection: removal warrants a Board of Appeals variance hearing under Section 14-56(b), the 50 percent buildable area exemption does not apply, and alternative designs that preserve the tree must be presented.

The Board of Appeals also hears variances for specimen trees outside the buildable area, weighing age, size, health and significance, the feasibility of alternate design, and due diligence before purchase. Administrative variances can reduce front, side and rear setbacks and parking requirements up to 25 percent to save specimen trees.