The Conservation Advisory Council has proposed a new law concerning trees in the Village of Athens. We will be holding a public hearing at the Athens Volunteer Fire Department on January 25th, 2023 at 6:30pm for the purpose of receiving input from the community concerning this proposed draft law.
This hearing will be immediately followed by our regular Village Board meeting.
You can view the proposed draft law, as well as our existing tree law (2018) here. If you are unable to attend and wish to send comments regarding this legislation you may do so using the form on the page linked above. You may also email the Village Clerk directly with this link. Any comments sent after 2pm on the day of the hearing may not be received in time for inclusion.
Depending on attendance, speakers’ time may be limited. We will post again with additional information one day prior to the hearing.
I believe that the proposed changes to the current village code regarding trees on private property is not in the best interest of the community. While the intent may be noble it will restrict the rights of property owners and impose excessive costs related to the removal of trees on private properties.
If the underlying intent of this regulation is to prevent clear-cutting of large tracts of land then we should make changes to the site permit process to address that concern.
I therefore do not support these changes to the current code regarding trees in the village.