Fresh Loaf

“Granmaw Gordon,” the majestic pecan tree that’s coy about her age, now has her own Web site. Set up by residents eager to save the tree from a planned 10-unit development, the site offers links to news articles and ways to donate to their cause.

The group is facing an uphill battle — they failed to raise $1 million to purchase the privately owned lot last month — and have now filed an appeal in Fulton County Superior Court to keep the bulldozers at bay.

But a Web site is a good step. If it works for Ron Paul, it can work for you.

(Photo from granmawgordon.com)

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UPDATE: I spoke with Adam Gaslowitz, the owner of the property, and he said that my previous post was inaccurate and omits the many costs involved in studying, developing and maintaining the land. I apologize for overlooking that aspect of the purchase and have updated the post.

Some updates about the lot at the corner of DeKalb and Gordon avenues that area residents are trying to purchase and convert into a public greenspace:

The “greenspace” lot is actually two separate parcels of land — 288 and 292 Gordon Avenue. (Click here for the map.) From the DeKalb County Tax Assessor, here’s the run-down on one half of the property. Here’s the information on the second lot, which according to records, was purchased on the same day and for the same price as the first.

Also, according to Adam Gaslowitz, the property’s owner, “Granmaw Gordon,” the majestic pecan tree that stands on the lot, is not more than 150 years old. He said the city arborist recently conducted tests on the tree and concluded its age is closer to 87 years old. Calls were made to confirm but no word back yet.

(Hat tip to the Oakhurst Yahoo Message Board for the DeKalb County Tax Assessor link.)

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Acres identified as greenspace in 20-county metro area: 170,000

Approximate acreage of DeKalb County: 170,000

Amount of money regional voters have approved for greenspace acquisition since 2003: $2.16 million

Percentage of land in 20-county metro area protected as “greenspace”: 4

Number of acres of trees in metro Atlanta that are lost to development daily: 50

Cost of plot of “greenspace” on DeKalb Avenue area residents want to save from development: $1 million

Price the land was sold for last year: $297,900

Number of condo units planned on the lot: 10

Minimum lot size, in acres, Atlanta Parks and Recreation will purchase: 2

Size, in acres, of the DeKalb Avenue lot: .33

Number of days residents were given to raise that money: 30

Rank of Atlanta, out of 10, for cities with least amount of park space as a percentage of city acreage: 2

Acres of greenspace the Beltline is poised to create: 1,200

Acres of greenspace in Atlanta per 1,000 people: 7.9

Acres of greenspace in Raleigh per 1,000 people: 35.6

Sources: Atlanta Regional Commission, NASA, Trees Atlanta, Beltline, Trust for Public Land, DeKalb County Tax Assessors

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Lake Claire residents attempting to preserve a half-acre of privately owned land at the corner of DeKalb and Gordon Avenues have teamed up with local greenspace advocacy group Park Pride. The nonprofit has set up a fund where people can donate “funds, stocks, whatever,” according to Teri Stewart, a local art gallery owner and neighbor of the lot. For more information, click here.

(Note: An earlier version of this post incorrectly referred to the disputed property as publicly owned.)

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News from Teri Stewart, the Lake Claire resident and gallery owner who is leading the neighborhood fight against a tree cutting and development project at the corner of DeKalb and Gordon avenues — a half-acre slice of land residents call the last greenspace along the well-traveled and busy thoroughfare.

At a city of Atlanta Tree Commission hearing Wednesday night, Stewart says, residents were given one month by the commission to raise $1 million and purchase the land. Adam Gaslowitz, the property’s owner, cannot cut down any trees in that period. The decision grants “Grandmaw Gordon,” the antique pecan tree that has stood on the land for more than 150 years, a temporary pardon. Stewart has sent letters to Gov. Sonny Perdue and the governors of Alabama and Florida, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, saying that the tree, which she claims is immune to a disease that afflicts the species, could be studied to bolster pecan tree crops throughout the Southeast.

If the fundraising effort fails, residents have the option of appealing their case in Fulton County Superior Court.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Update on DeKalb Avenue’s last greenspace:

Lake Claire resident Teri Stewart says the city of Atlanta Tree Commission has scheduled a hearing for Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. 6:30 p.m. in City Hall’s committee room No. 2. The hearing is in regard to the proposed tree razing slated to take place on the half-acre property at DeKalb and Gordon avenues. Stewart is requesting supporters wear green.

Stewart has also submitted an application to the governors of Alabama and Florida, as well as Gov. Sonny Perdue and the United States Department of Agriculture, to save “Grandmaw Gordon,” the antique pecan tree that sits on the lot. Stewart says the tree is genetically immune to pecan scab, a disease that normally attacks the trees, and that “Grandmaw Gordon” could be studied to bolster the Southeast’s pecan industry.

Update: Peter, a Lake Claire resident who lives near the greenspace, notes in the comments that the hearing starts at 6:30 p.m.

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Just got an update on the half-acre slice of greenspace located at DeKalb and Gordon avenues. Residents of the nearby neighborhoods have banded together to convince the city to buy the property — which is the last piece of greenery along the busy thoroughfare connecting Atlanta and Decatur — or give them time to attempt to purchase it themselves. Residents also want to build and maintain a transit shelter and rest stop for cyclists and pedestrians who pass the greenspace and wait for buses at the nearby MARTA station.

The owner of the property has plans to build a 10-unit Earth-friendly condo development on the land, which he says will boost residents’ property values by acting as a buffer between traffic and the neighborhood.

Teri Stewart, a local art gallery owner who lives just a few doors down from the lot in question, called and said that she filed an appeal with the city of Atlanta Tree Commission on Feb. 5. That appeal puts a freeze on any tree cutting on the property until a hearing is held. No date for that hearing as of now. If any trees are cut, the property owner faces a $1,000 fine per tree, and a one-year building freeze will be imposed on the property. Stewart is also preparing an application she will submit to the commission asking it designate “Grandmaw Gordon,” the majestic antique pecan tree that sits on the property, as “historic” and protected. Neighbors are conducting a 24-hour watch on the property to ensure that nothing nefarious goes down.

We’ll keep you posted on what we hear.

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