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

Section 14-520(8) is Stonecrest's dedicated heritage-tree standard inside the broader tree protection ordinance. The City Arborist identifies specimen trees and marks them on the tree protection plan required under § 14-518. A tree qualifies by size alone if it is in fair or better condition and meets a species-based diameter threshold: 30 inches DBH for large hardwoods such as oaks, hickories and yellow poplars; 30 inches DBH for large softwoods such as pines and evergreens; and ten inches DBH for small trees such as dogwoods, redbuds and sourwoods.

'Fair or better condition' has its own test: a life expectancy beyond 15 years, a relatively sound trunk with no extensive decay and less than 20 percent radial dieback, and no major insect or pathological problem. A smaller tree can still qualify as a specimen if it is a rare or unusual species, has historical significance, is used as a landscape focal point, or has exceptional aesthetic quality, and the Director of Community Development may also require preservation of an entire stand where specimen trees are interlocked with neighboring trees in a way that removal of the others would endanger the specimen.

Once identified, a specimen tree on a tract subject to a land disturbance, development, or building permit cannot be cut without either the Director's approval or a special exception from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Any specimen tree that is removed, whether by approved removal or by negligent damage during construction, must be replaced at 1.5 times its diameter in replacement trees, a materially steeper ratio than the one-to-one replacement that applies to ordinary significant trees removed under the general tree density rules in § 14-520(1).