Skip to main content

NPU-F Parks Chair Weighs In

From: Rob Glancy
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 4:24 PM
To: sfranklin@AtlantaGa.GovCc: 'Anne Fauver at Bellsouth'; 'Anne Fauver'; mnorwood@AtlantaGa.Gov; 'Dianne Olansky'; 'Pamela Papner'; 'Papner, Pamela'; 'Gillett, Ken'
Subject: Disappointment regarding Tom Coffin's Dismissal

Dear Madame Mayor:

I am writing you to express my personal disappointment at the dismissal of Tom Coffin. I know you are hearing a lot of this lately, and I know it is being investigated, but I think it is important to hear this from a wide range of parties who have worked with him over the years.

I have been the Parks Chair of NPU-F since 2004 and I have been the Parks Chair for The Virginia-Highland Civic Association since 2001. In these capacities, I have worked with Mr. Coffin and have always found him to be extremely professional, unbiased, effective and tireless in his work as an arborist for the city.

Moreover, I believe his dismissal confirms the lack of interest and commitment to the Tree Ordinance, which I believe is so important to the city for us and for future generations. Everyone says it, and I will say it again:

Atlanta’s most important natural resource is its trees. We don’t have the lakes, harbors or oceans of Chicago, Boston, New York and Miami nor the mountains of Denver and Seattle, but we have our trees, and they are critical to our quality of life. Mr. Coffin is a staunch supporter of trees and an individual who is not afraid to do his job, and as such, he is a critical person to have on staff in the Arborist’s office.

I hope there will be a reversal of this decision, and furthermore I hope this situation leads to a revitalized commitment to the enforcement and management of the city’s Tree Ordinance.


Sincere regards,

Rob Glancy
Parks Chair, NPU-F
Parks Chair, Virginia-Highland Civic Association

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Appeals to the Tree Conservation Commission, 2008

Appeals to the Tree Conservation Commission, 2008 By Tom Coffin, Ph.D. Appeals to the Tree Conservation Commission are, by design, an integral part of the Tree Protection Ordinance. Like most laws, the TPO is a relatively blunt instrument. Though reasonable and effective most of the time, it does not cover all situations all the time, nor is it fair to all parties all the time. Appeals to the TCC provide an administrative means to resolve disputes. Unlike a Municipal Court hearing – also possible under the ordinance -- where decisions are usually based on the “letter of the law,” appeal hearings before the TCC often allow for some bending of the law as written to encompass a specific situation. At its best, the TCC acts as the “conscience of the community” in its decision-making. Both the commission and the appeal process have matured. After more than eight years of use and testing, both work rather admirably when allowed to do so. Under the Tree Protection Ordinance, every decision (s...
3 comments
Read more

Urban Forest Fiasco

From Creative Loafing... "Tom Coffin loves trees. And when we say he loves trees, he reaaally loves trees. The unfamiliar face – who was the city's senior arborist until he was fired July 29 – is the epicenter of the latest scandal to emanate from already embattled City Hall. The city's failure to specify why Coffin was fired (or who called for it) has led many to speculate about the cause – and jump to the conclusion that developers saw him as a threat. Even the New York Times took notice – and questioned whether Atlanta's development machine had chalked a win over the environmental community." ... more
Post a Comment
Read more

Huffington Post Comments

The Huffington Post picked up the New York Times story as soon as it was published. Here is a comment to the article from their Web site : "well it's nice to hear that at least someone was doing their job because when I drive through this city the question that repeatedly comes to my mind is: why does atlanta even have a tree ordinance? the developers here still clear-cut old large trees then replant saplings - and given the stress that these trees are under it is highly doubtful they will ever reach the size of the ones that are being cut down.I've lived here for almost 2 decades and I continue to be appalled at what the city allows developers to get away with here. we're running out of water and they still keep handing out the building permits. we're losing our oldest and largest tress to greed and the city just keeps handing out the permits. truely this city is f-ed at this point. so I guess given that developers always get their way in this place it comes as no...
Post a Comment
Read more