UPDATE: City agrees to delay cutting down trees & discuss options with community. http://fox5sandiego.com/2014/09/23/coronado-tree-sitter-comes-down-after-talk-with-mayor/
Long time Coronado local Dan’l Steward is tethered in a tree on E Avenue targeted for removal. Read on to find out why.
The block between First and Second Streets on E Avenue is well known to not only residents of Coronado, but visitors as well. It is an attractive street lined on both sides with huge, towering Eucalyptus trees. People purposely come this way on strolls to enjoy the natural and calming beauty that the trees provide.
eCoronado.com was not the only media source covering the removal of the Eucalyptus trees on E Avenue.
Today, however, four of the revered Eucalyptus trees are being removed and many residents are extremely upset and frustrated with the city. One such resident, long time Coronado local Dan’l Steward, has placed himself in one of the trees marked for removal. The residents want answers about how the decision was made to remove the trees and about the plan to mitigate the risk and save the trees in the future. Dan’l says that he is in the tree “to force the issue. Residents want the community to be aware of the situation and to press for a plan moving forward.”
There is heavy machinery and lots of noise involved with tree removal.
Another E Avenue resident supported his cause, stating that “we all know the trees are coming down. He is there in a positive way to raise awareness.” The residents main concern now is protection of the remaining trees so they don’t befall the same fate as the four determined too risky to keep.
According to a different resident, a letter of complaint was sent to the city earlier this year about the trees and the danger of a large branch falling. Cliff Maurer, Director of Public Services and Engineering, indicated that, in fact, a large branch of an estimated 2,000 pounds did fall at one point in the last year. The City received a “letter of concern”, according to Maurer, and initiated action to investigate the risk to public safety.
Several shots of the Eucalyptus tree removal on E Avenue today. The far left shot is the first tree to be removed.
Residents understand the need for public safety, but are upset at the process the city used to come to the conclusion that four of the trees must go. Residents are specifically upset that the removal decision was made by the City Council behind closed doors and with such a “rush to action” and that the city’s Street Tree Committee was not consulted about the matter. The city did consult an arborist and then sent a letter to residents informing them of a meeting with the arborist. According to E Avenue resident Joe Moore, the letter was dated September 5 and invited comments at a 4pm “street meeting” on September 11. Moore pointed out that, “this time period does not give anyone who works for a living sufficient time to make schedule changes, nor get home from work early enough to participate.” Though the letter informing residents of the meeting with the arborist alluded to the fact that the opinion of the residents was valued by the city, neither the arborist, nor the council, asked for the opinion of the residents. The arborist explained his findings and answered questions, but, residents feel, the topic wasn’t really up for discussion.
Moore also shared that he was present on a day when the arborist was making his assessment and noticed only a notebook for jotting down comments. “Although I cannot attest to the assessments he may have made on other days, I did not see any climbing equipment or any technology used for his assessment, other than the notebook.” Resident Dan’l Steward mentioned that the criteria used by the arborist for the risk mitigation was based on two things: visual inspection and percussion hammer (to listen for hollow spots in the trunk). Several residents feel this was not a thorough enough investigation into the health of the trees.
Resident Kirby Watson has lived in her home on E Avenue since 1971 and says she is “absolutely infuriated” about the tree removal. She describes her block as “one of the prettiest in all of Coronado because of the beautiful trees.”
These signs were on trees lining E Avenue this morning as crews prepared to remove four of the 80 plus year old specimens.
Mr. Maurer explained that there are four different risk levels for trees ranging from low, medium, and high to extreme. A tree with extreme risk needs an immediate response “like it’s a house fire”. Mr. Maurer also added that as far as the city is concerned, “we don’t even want a high risk tree. The City wants to save our trees. We are actually very stingy on removing trees. The Eucalyptus in question are in the final quarter of their lives. It is a tough decision but we don’t want to put the public in danger.” He added that “public safety has to come first. We (the city) understand it’s not popular.”
The Eucalyptus trees in question were determined to be Medium risk. They are commonly known as Sugar Gum Eucalyptus and, according to Jess Culpeper, Public Services Supervisor for Parks, Urban Forestry and Beaches for the City of Coronado, they are hard to find. Residents are interested in the city replacing the trees with new Eucalyptus, but the current type are
not part of the accepted list kept by the Street Tree Committee. Mr. Culpeper explained that the Sugar Gum and also Blue Gum are not being carried by nurseries because of the problems that other cities in the county have had with them. The city is doing its best to accommodate the desires of the residents who want the removed trees replaced with the same type of tree. The city has been searching for other types of Eucalyptus, such as the Silver Dollar Gum (photo at right courtesy of Google images) which are not as prone to the risks the current trees possess. The Street Tree Committee could amend the current list of accepted trees to include a Eucalyptus.
The explanation for the closed session of the city council is that a closed session gave the council the most options to save the trees. There was legal risk involved with the decision because of the safety concern for the public and because of where the trees are located; on a residential street where people walk and park their cars. The age of the trees was also a factor in determining whether severe pruning was adequate enough to decrease the risk. Apparently when a tree becomes a certain age, severe pruning is detrimental to the tree’s health, not beneficial. It appears that with a medium risk factor, the city felt the best decision for public safety was the removal of the trees.
….and tree number one is gone!
Residents are concerned that without a say, in the absence of an open session with public comment, more trees will succumb to the same fate as the towering beauties that are currently disappearing on E Avenue.
If you are passionate about the issue, Dan’l Steward would welcome company. Go climb a tree.
If you have more questions, city officials can be reached at 619-522-7300.
As far as how to handle Dan’l Steward taking up residence in a tree targeted for removal, City Manager Blair King stated that the city “isn’t looking for a confrontation”. Mr. Steward is seeking a plan from the council on how the city will proceed in the future with the trees that remain on E Avenue. The next city council meeting will take place October 7, 2014.
UPDATE: City agrees to delay cutting down trees & discuss options with community. http://fox5sandiego.com/2014/09/23/coronado-tree-sitter-comes-down-after-talk-with-mayor/
Kellee Hearther
Staff Writer
eCoronado.com
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