THE SETTLEMENT
The legal battle with the City of Atlanta has been settled. As part of the settlement, the petition for writ of certiorari to Fulton County Superior Court has been dismissed. The certiorari petition was from the denial of a second appeal to the Atlanta Tree Conservation Commission, in September 2018.
The settlement provided some notable gains. But sadly, the majority of trees were lost.
Here's what was gained by our fight:
1) The City agreed to preserve 10 additional Grant Park trees. Five are in the bowl, five are down by the pond.
2) The City agreed NOT to stockpile dirt in the bowl during construction. This minimized damage to the surrounding trees, including 4 specimen trees which were to be preserved in the middle of the bowl.
3) The City agreed to attempt to save #2745, the large water oak on the corner of Boulevard and Confederate. The City also agreed to attempt to save #2731, the 100 year old white oak in the southern end of the Boulevard lot.
4) The City agreed to re-design flyover to include a multi-modal path that is ADA compliant and able to accommodate cyclists.
5) The City agreed to turn the southern end of the current Boulevard lot into greenspace by covering the remaining asphalt with dirt and greenery. (Ripping out the asphalt, if not done properly, could damage the tree roots.).
6) The bandstand on top of the deck will be redesigned as a pavilion.
Now everyone can see the devastating loss of hundreds of trees from Grant Park's tree canopy -- Let's not let this happen again!
Please continue to stay awake, aware and involved in Grant Park. Attend Grant Park Neighborhood Association (GPNA) and Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU) meetings. We need to be vigilant if we intend to protect the trees and public spaces in the park from future Zoo expansions or so-called park improvement projects that require destroying large mature trees.
Support our brothers and sisters who fight to save other trees, such as those in Ormewood Forest and Intrenchment Creek.
