Atlanta Tree Review Before Driveway Excavation

Identify the Correct Tree-Review Office

Atlanta’s City Planning Arborist Division describes its role in protecting trees and reviewing removal associated with construction or separate tree applications. The city also has a Parks and Recreation arborist office. Establish whether the tree and work area are on private property or public land, and ask the city which office should review your proposal.

Use a survey where available and mark the street, sidewalk, driveway edges, and tree trunks. Do not decide ownership by who has been mowing around the tree. Explain whether the work is a replacement within the old footprint, widening, or a new driveway. Those distinctions help staff understand the actual disturbance rather than an imprecise request for paving advice.

Show Tree Impacts With the Construction Scope

The City Planning Arborist Division explains that tree protection and removal can be handled within a building-permit process or through a separate application for a dead, dying, diseased, or hazardous tree. Ask which route fits the tree condition and driveway work. Do not describe a healthy tree as hazardous simply because it complicates access.

Have an arborist and the paving estimator discuss the same drawing. Ask where excavation, compaction, and grade changes would occur and which trees could be affected. Include neighboring trees whose roots or branches may cross into the work area. A tree-condition opinion and a construction-impact plan answer different questions; identify which documents the city needs.

Compare Alternatives Before Cutting Roots

Ask whether the driveway alignment, edge detail, construction method, or equipment route can be changed to reduce conflicts. Request an explanation of each option’s limits, including what remains uncertain until the old surface is removed. A proposal should identify who evaluates unexpected roots and who can authorize a revised detail.

Put protection areas and permitted access on a drawing the crew can use. Include material delivery, concrete washout or other work processes, debris removal, and storage locations. Ask how barriers will remain intact throughout the job. The fact that a truck fits between the trunk and house does not establish that the route has been evaluated for the tree or underground utilities.

Keep the Paving Contract Aligned With the Review

Require the final quote to reference the accepted site plan and any city conditions rather than an earlier sketch. Separate tree work, paving, drainage changes, and restoration so each contractor’s responsibilities are understandable. Ask who obtains the applicable permits and coordinates inspection or arborist follow-up before work progresses beyond a review point.

Photograph the tree, surrounding grade, and protective measures before demolition. Agree how deviations will be reported and priced, and keep communications with the contractor in the project file. At completion, check that protection was removed appropriately, debris was cleared, and the finished driveway follows the accepted layout. Request maintenance instructions for any retained tree that received work, with a clear route for reporting later concerns.

Sources And Local Resources

Official sources checked October 17, 2026. Confirm current requirements with the authority responsible for your property.

• Arborist Division | Atlanta, GAAtlanta City Planning Arborist Division and construction-related versus separate tree applications.
• Arborist Division | Atlanta, GAAtlanta Parks and Recreation arborist office and tree-work resources.