Local Rules

The Sandy Springs tree rules, in plain terms

This is the rule that surprises people who move here from elsewhere in metro Atlanta, and the one most likely to change the shape of a landscape plan. The thresholds are specific and the city publishes them.

Where the measurement is taken. The city's method is to measure circumference at 4.5 feet above ground level, and on a slope to measure from the highest ground point at the base. Divide the circumference by 3.14 to get the diameter. On a Sandy Springs lot, which is usually sloped, measuring from the downhill side gives a smaller number and the wrong answer.

When a removal permit is required

The City of Sandy Springs requires a Tree Removal Permit where a tree is being taken out independently of construction work and meets any one of these:

Any tree measuring 18 inches DBH or larger
Any dogwood or redbud measuring 10 inches DBH or larger
Any tree located within a stream buffer, the 75-foot protected corridor along designated streams and water bodies, or within the Chattahoochee River Corridor

A permit is also required where a mix of healthy and dead, dying, diseased or hazardous trees is being removed together. City arborists enforce the Tree Conservation Ordinance and provide guidance on removal requirements, but they do not perform removals or health assessments themselves.

When it is not a removal permit but a conservation plan

This is the part that catches landscape projects. Where tree removal is associated with construction activity, and the city names grading, pool installation, patios and additions specifically, the submittal is a Tree Conservation Plan rather than a Tree Removal Permit application. Tree Conservation Plans must comply with the Tree Conservation Ordinance at Division 9.3 of the Development Code and be submitted with construction documents before any tree removal or impact takes place, with further requirements set out in Section 1 of the Sandy Springs Technical Manual. A Tree Conservation Plan including canopy coverage calculations also appears on the city's list of construction drawings normally required with a land disturbance permit application.

In practical terms: cutting one dying oak in the back corner is a permit. Regrading a slope and building a patio, where that work costs you two trees, is a plan submitted with drawings. The second is slower, so it belongs in the project schedule from the start.

Dead, dying, diseased or hazardous trees

There is a documented route for these that does not require a full permit. The city asks for documentation to be submitted to the City Arborist for approval before removal, sent to the arborist's email address, containing a description of the tree such as a 20-inch pine, the property address, a description of the issue, and photographs documenting the condition. Applicants may consult a certified arborist for the evaluation, and the city points to TreesAreGood.org for finding one.

Applying, and what goes with it

Applications go through the city's online permitting portal, where documents are uploaded, invoices paid and status tracked, and appointments with a permit technician at City Hall can be booked. Tree Removal Permits can be requested by property owners, certified arborists, or representatives of commercial tree removal companies. The application usually wants photographs showing the condition of the trees, and a drawing identifying every tree proposed for removal with each one labelled and the removals marked with an X. Hand-drawn sketches or printed property maps are accepted, and property maps are available through the Fulton County Tax Assessor. An arborist report is optional.

Landmark trees and the Tree Fund

The city runs a Tree Fund which, among other things, provides financial assistance for preserving significant trees on private land. Eligibility is set at hardwoods of 27 inches DBH or more and pines of 30 inches DBH or more, the tree must have a documented health or safety concern with potential for recovery, applications require a maintenance plan from an ISA Certified Arborist, and a three-year protective covenant over the tree's critical root zone is mandatory. The same fund supports removal of invasive non-native plants such as kudzu, privet and English ivy on public property, with mechanical removal preferred over chemical treatment.

What this means for a landscape design

Three things, and they are all worth knowing before the first drawing.

The big trees are usually fixed. Design around them rather than assuming they can move. That settles the plant palette immediately, because everything under that canopy has to tolerate shade.
Damage counts, not just removal. Compacting a root zone under a new patio, cutting roots for a wall footing, or raising grade over a root flare all put a protected tree into decline. The tree that has to come out in four years is the same permit conversation, only later and with less choice about timing.
Alignment is cheaper to change than a tree is to replace. Moving a wall or a patio a few feet to stay outside a critical root zone costs a redraw. Getting it wrong costs the tree, the permit, and the canopy that made the lot worth buying.

The shade planting guide covers how to work productively under trees you are keeping, and wall and grading work covers the root-zone constraints on earthwork.

Sources

City of Sandy Springs Tree Removal Permits, Yard Maintenance and Tree Removal, and Tree Fund pages, and the Tree Conservation Ordinance at Division 9.3 of the Sandy Springs Development Code. Thresholds and procedures as published by the city.