Brookhaven, GA Tree Protection: Protected Tree Species (2026)

Section 14-52(a) of the Code of the City of Brookhaven, Georgia sets the specimen tree table, which ties protection to species group and trunk diameter. Pines (Pinus) other than Shortleaf and Virginia Pine qualify at 28-inch diameter or larger. Other conifers, including Juniper, Cedar, Bald Cypress, Dawn Redwood, Eastern Hemlock, Virginia Pine, China Fir and Shortleaf Pine, qualify at 18 inches. Among large and medium broadleaf trees, Sweetgum and Eastern Cottonwood qualify at 30 inches, Tulip Poplar at 26 inches, and all Oak species, Sycamore, Pecan, Elm other than American, Maple other than Red, Southern Magnolia and other genera not listed elsewhere at 24 inches.

Beech, Hickory, Tupelo or Blackgum, American Holly, American Elm, Red Maple and ecologically similar species qualify at 18 inches, and the printed table also lists Southern Magnolia in that 18-inch line. Understory and small trees qualify at 12 inches for native Cherry and Persimmon, eight inches for Dogwood and Redbud, and six inches for American Hornbeam, Sassafras albidum, Big Leaf Magnolia, Sourwood and Hop Hornbeam. Diameter means DBH, which Section 14-50 measures at four-and-one-half feet above the ground, with a multi-trunk tree measured at its narrowest point beneath the split.

Specimen status carries consequences under the same section: preservation credits, recompense fees for removal, and Board of Appeals review for champion trees. The article also covers species beyond the table. Section 14-50 defines invasive species by the Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council list, and Section 14-54 requires English Ivy, Chinese Wisteria and Kudzu vines to be manually removed from preserved trees. Section 14-54(c) requires a permit to remove any tree four inches DBH or larger, whatever its species.