Skip to main content

Where Did All The Appeals Go?

“I see a Bureau of Buildings and a Department of Planning elevating unrestricted development above all other considerations, including adherence to law.” -- Tom Coffin
Tom’s statement above is made in regard to his most recent analysis of the appeals that were heard during 2008, the full text which can be found below. Not surprisingly, 5 of the 7 appeals still outstanding at the time of Tom’s firing were subsequently withdrawn or deferred/dismissed; whereas only 2 of the 16 appeals filed against Tom’s decisions prior to his firing were withdrawn or deferred/dismissed.

As Tom explains, withdrawals typically occur when the appellant and the city arborist resolve their differences prior to the hearing whereas a deferral/dismissal means the case was deferred or dismissed without a ruling by the commission. The fact that the majority of Tom’s appeals were never heard before the Tree Commission after his firing raises doubts as to how well the city arborists are adhering to the law.

Tom’s analysis below shows that the number of appeals filed against the city arborists’ decisions correlates with the number of citations issued – those arborists who issue more citations tend to engender more appeals. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Tom, being the most vigilant employee on the job, had the most number of appeals by an overwhelming margin.

The question is: Where did all Tom's appeals go after he was fired?

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