Avondale Estates, Georgia official tree species list, ordinance of January 12, 2022

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It is also not planting advice and it does not say which tree suits a site. The city’s Tree Ordinance page says the Board of Mayor and Commissioners passed a Tree Ordinance on January 12, 2022, and that the ordinance intends to protect the city’s tree canopy. The ordinance page lists an Official Tree Species List in Chapter 17, Article II, Public Trees. The list PDF itself carries no date, and its PDF metadata shows it was created on November 12, 2021.

What the list says it is

The PDF opens by saying prior written permission from the city manager is needed before any tree goes on city property. It calls the following list the official list of tree species that may go in city rights-of-way and in city parks and greenspaces. It says large overstory trees should be chosen where practicable to further the city’s goal of keeping canopy coverage above 50% and raising it over time. The ordinance amendment PDF, a scanned file read by text recognition, says the same goal in the residential code and gives 40% for non-residential areas. It also directs the city manager to have an aerial survey of the tree canopy presented to the Board of Mayor and Commissioners during 2022 and every five years after. The amendment’s recitals say the city consulted an arborist about the most desirable species for public property.

The list separates two uses. Street trees are grouped as recommended overstory, acceptable overstory, and mid-canopy and understory trees. The mid-canopy group carries the printed condition that it is for use only under power lines or where root zones are severely restricted. Spellings below are copied as the PDF prints them, including its typing slips.

Street trees

Recommended Overstory (Large) Street Trees (7 rows)

Acceptable Overstory (Large) Street Trees (13 rows)

Mid-canopy and Understory Street trees (19 rows)

The list adds a condition: these trees are for use under power lines or where root zones are severely restricted.

Park and greenspace trees

The second half of the list is headed Park and Greenspace Trees and has five groups. Several species are repeated from the street tree groups.

Large deciduous shade trees (33 rows)

Small to Medium deciduous character trees (14 rows)

Flowering trees (30 rows)

Large to Medium evergreen trees (20 rows)

Small evergreen trees (10 rows)

Limits

• The list has no printed date. The dates above come from the city’s page and the PDF metadata.
• The ordinance amendment is a scan. Only its clear passages were used here: the canopy percentages and the five-year survey direction.
• The city page names a tree officer and a permit coordinator, and a tree removal permit form. This page does not cover them.

This list sits beside the others on the city lists comparison page. The tree canopy goal connects to the evidence on the 3-30-300 guideline page.

Sources

• City of Avondale Estates, City Tree List (PDF, created November 12, 2021), read October 9, 2026
• City of Avondale Estates, Tree Ordinance page, read October 9, 2026
• City of Avondale Estates, Tree Ordinance amendment of January 12, 2022 (scanned PDF), read October 9, 2026