Atlantic Beach officials are taking additional steps to strengthen the city’s tree protection code, tightening requirements for removal to preserve one of the city’s most valuable natural assets.
The City Commission voted 4-1 in favor of an amended ordinance to include all maritime trees with a minimum 20-inch diameter at breast height, or DBH, threshold. Commissioner Thomas Grant opposed the motion, which he said left too many uncertainties about the impact on homeowners “trying to do reasonable things to their property.”
“I am a supporter of trees, and I think 20 inches is fair,” he said. “But we haven’t even discussed other maritime trees.”
Commissioners were considering an original ordinance to create a new classification for landmark live oak trees with expanded review, replacement and mitigation requirements. Commissioner Jessica Ring made the amended motion, with a second by Commissioner Candace Kelly.
The ordinance discourages removal of landmark trees while providing a mechanism to weigh unique site constraints and circumstances where preservation is not feasible.
Nearly a dozen residents addressed the measure, asking city leaders to broaden the classification to include all maritime trees with a 20-inch DBH or larger. The commission will welcome public comment during the second reading of the ordinance.
“This community is literally begging to make a meaningful change and stem the bleeding in our tree canopy,” Anastasia Houston, who serves on the city’s Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC), said. “With the state of our tree laws, 20-inch trees are becoming increasingly rare. We’re losing more trees than we could ever replace.”
ESC member Dan Giovannucci said the city replaced only one of every six inches lost last year. “It’s just as bad if not worse this year,” he said. “We have a real trend problem going on and it’s not just the big trees. I think we need to take this into account a little more broadly than just looking at the landmark trees. The entire biodiversity that we have is what maintains landmark live oaks. Most of the live oaks that we have would not survive very long if they were on their own.”
According to the amended ordinance, removal of any maritime trees will require a permit approved by both the Community Development Board and City Commission and a review by an independent third-party arborist retained by the city to determine whether the tree meets the criteria for removal.
Staff would also require the relocation of a comparable size tree when applicable, with all costs paid by the applicant. Any unauthorized removals would be subject to penalties.
During a recent town hall meeting, the City Commission discussed adding protections for the city’s mature live oak tree canopy and directed staff to develop an expedited approach to preserve the community’s most significant oak trees.
The ESC also recommended protection of older maritime trees. More than 30 tree species can reach a diameter of 30 inches, including cypress, American elm and southern magnolia, a milestone that can take anywhere from about 60 to 150 years depending on the species and growing conditions.
Mature live oaks provide significant environmental, economic and aesthetic benefits, including stormwater interception, reduced runoff, improved air quality, reduced greenhouse gases, shade production, wildlife habitat and biodiversity support.
According to statistics published by the International Society of Arboriculture, a typical live oak tree with a trunk diameter of 20 inches is approximately 70 to 120 years old.
ESC member Sarah Boren called on the commission to preserve all species of the city’s biodiverse maritime forest as environmental conditions and changing demographics put the community’s character at risk of overdevelopment.
“Atlantic Beach is on the cusp of a demographic shift. Thirty-four percent of our population is 60 years or older. As this generation transitions, their properties, many with decades-old canopies, will be sold or transition to their kids who will probably need more room. Without protection now, spec builders will maximize lot yield and remove trees at rates that will permanently alter the landscape,” she said.
“Also, longer droughts and intense short-term rainfall will increase newly planted trees’ mortality rate. What we plant today may not mature, resulting in more canopy loss. Canopy loss is measurable and accelerating.”
“Atlantic Beach is not a collection of individual trees,” resident Jackie Beckenbaugh said. “It’s part of our ecosystem.”
Mayor Curtis Ford cautioned that the city doesn’t have the capacity to catalog every tree meeting the protected DBH criteria, especially those on private property. But he agreed that moving the legislation to its second reading will help strike the right balance between environmental protection and property rights.
“What I had asked before was how can we put friction in the system to make it more difficult [to remove trees],” he said. “Who is the Wizard of Oz that gets to decide who gets relief and who doesn’t? I do not want to be the arbiter on every single tree with a 20-inch DBH to be removed. We really need to think through this and get rational on where we’re going. Let’s not run out of the gate; let’s walk.”
