JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — A century-old tree will now be cut down after neighbors fought off a Shake Shack to protect the tree two years ago.
A judge ruled recently that Johns Creek can’t save the tree.
Photographer Traci Dickson said that she found “peace and solitude” when she showed up with her camera to see the water oak tree in the Johns Creek shopping center one last time.
“It’s lived a long life. It needed to be documented and remembered,” Dickson told Channel 2’s Matt Johnson.
The tree survived in 2023 when neighbors blocked a Shake Shack from coming in, but a Fulton County judge ruled the tree has made its last stand.
Now, without specific plans for a restaurant moving in, the judge said the city’s tree ordinance doesn’t apply and can’t stop the removal.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Driver fights in court to get $1,000 passing school bus violation dismissed
- Man shot, killed over Target parking spot
- 3-year-old shot near a McDonalds in metro Atlanta, 3 arrested
“If we want to protect trees, historic trees like this, we really need to have the city tighten the tree ordinance,” said Joan Compton, with the Johns Creek Historical Society.
Compton helped save the tree two years ago but said the ruling is a death sentence for the nearly 70-foot landmark.
“It has some character and a little bit of respite from all the traffic and the stores and the asphalt,” Compton said.
The property owners argued that the tree is declining and poses a safety risk if its limbs were to fall.
Compton said she’d rather see it live out its full life cycle.
“It’s got 10 years at least if it’s cared for,” Compton said.
A city spokesperson said the property owner still wants a restaurant on that spot, but it’s unclear what it will be.
But for some, the loss cuts deeper than just losing shade in a parking lot.
“There’s very little left in Johns Creek that is a physical tie to history here. And the history here is quite rich,” Compton said.
A Whataburger is now being built in the same shopping center, but away from the tree.
The city does not plan to appeal the ruling. It will be up to the owner to decide when the tree will come down.
©2026 Cox Media Group
