Atlanta Arborist Who Issued 10X Citations His Five Colleagues Did Fired W/O Explanation - NYT

ATLANTA — So proud are Atlantans of their sprawling canopy of dogwoods, magnolias and pines — and, of course, peach trees — that builders must pay hundreds of dollars for every tree they uproot, even with the city’s permission. The penalty for violators is far heftier: One developer was recently fined $24,000 for illegal tree clearance, and Tyler Perry, the movie actor and director, was penalized $177,000 for unauthorized deforestation on his property.

But in the contest between trees and the area’s rampant development, the bulldozers have often won. That may explain why many tree lovers were upset last week when Tom Coffin, 64, the city’s senior arborist, was fired without explanation. Mr. Coffin, a vigilant defender of the city’s trees, said in an interview that he had complained to his superiors about the “almost total lack of enforcement” by other arborists. Before being fired, Mr. Coffin had issued 70 citations for illegal tree removal this year, while the five other arborists in his division issued a total of 29 citations. “There’s essentially no enforcement going on, except in my region,” Mr. Coffin said. “We need to account for why.”

Last Tuesday, Ibrahim Maslamani, the director of the Bureau of Buildings, called Mr. Coffin into his office and told him the city “no longer required” his services, Mr. Coffin said. The city’s Department of Planning and Community Development released a statement calling the dismissal a “personnel matter,” but residents have been asking Mayor Shirley Franklin’s office to investigate whether Mr. Coffin’s dismissal resulted from his stern treatment of Atlanta developers.

“This is a much bigger story than Tom,” said Sheldon Schlegman, an architect and a former chairman of the city’s Tree Conservation Commission. “There’s been a long-term, ongoing struggle for the city of Atlanta’s trees. And developers and builders are winning.” Mr. Coffin, who wants his $50,700-a-year job back, plans to meet with city officials this week, but he declined to speculate on the reasons for his dismissal. The mayor’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

EDIT

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/us/06atlanta.html

:toast:

it's quite another to enforce them, when you are standing between people and their money or lifestyle.

This is more corrupt governmental collusion with business at the expense of The People and The Trees.