Homeowners Starting To Look At Zoning

"The view from Suzanne Ruff's screen porch used to be a deep green wall of towering oaks and poplars. It was a shaded spot to sit and enjoy bird songs and the quiet murmur of the breeze through the trees. Five years after moving into her home outside Snellville, Ruff and her neighbors now look back at the blue-gray back wall of a Wal-Mart SuperCenter about 50 yards away. "I should have looked at a land-use map," Ruff said. In a megalopolis where development gobbles up two wooded acres an hour, it's risky to assume the trees beyond your back yard will stand there for long."

Thanks to Christian Peralta