Alpharetta withdraws nuisance rewrite spelling out dangerous-tree enforcement

A nuisance-code rewrite spelling out how Alpharetta could require dangerous trees to be addressed—and seek to recover the cost of city removal—has been withdrawn from the Oct. 26 City Council agenda.⁠[1][2]

The Georgia city’s cancellation notice says the entire Oct. 26 council meeting is cancelled. It lists the nuisance ordinance, which had been slated for a first reading, as withdrawn rather than rescheduled. The notice gives neither a reason for the withdrawal nor a date for the ordinance to return.⁠[1]

Tree safety is one part of a broader rewrite covering junk vehicles, litter and garbage, and nuisance buildings and properties. The tree provisions define a nuisance as a dead, diseased or damaged tree—or part of one—that natural forces could more readily topple onto public ways or public or private property, imperiling life or property.⁠[2]

For a nuisance-tree notice on private property, the text specifies that officials identify the tree, explain why it is a nuisance, describe the corrective action and allow at least 10 days for compliance. That notice is distinct from the court proceedings described elsewhere in the proposal.⁠[2]

Under those provisions, a nuisance complaint could be filed in municipal court, with a hearing 15 to 45 days after filing. Property owners and other interested parties would have the right to answer the complaint, appear personally or through an attorney, and offer testimony.⁠[2]

If the court found the tree to be a nuisance, the proposal provides for an order to remove or otherwise address it. If it remained unresolved, the court could authorize city entry onto private property to do the work and allow recovery of removal costs, court costs, fees and other associated expenses. Those are provisions of the withdrawn proposal—not new requirements enacted through the cancelled meeting.⁠[1][2]