HomeMy WebLinkAbout3/23/2020 cc - Rivers (205 Broad Street Redwood)
Clerk, Intern
From:lucyruth@velociter.net
Sent:Saturday, March 14, 2020 10:03 AM
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:205 broad street redwood
Attachments:Save the redwood.pdf
Attn: Tree Committee
I have attached a letter regarding a tree removal request for 205 Broad Street.
Thank you
Lucy Ruth Wright Rivers
lucyruth@velociter.net
1
March 9, 2020
Tree Committee
Department of Public Works
City of San Luis Obispo
Attn: Ron Combs
25 Prado Rd
San Luis Obispo CA 93401-3218
Save the redwood, please.
To whom it may concern, I am writing in support of saving the dawn redwood at 205 Broad St. in San
Luis Obispo. This letter is in protest to a request for a removal permit being submitted to the City.
The tree was planted by my grandfather in the late 1960s. (I am relying on memory and family history,
so I don't know the exact date). My grandfather was Thomas Chalmers, for many years he was the
Agricultural Commissioner of San Luis Obispo county. As I recall, he received the seedling as a gift
from a colleague of his, I think from UC Berkeley. As a child, I recall hearing the story of this tree, a rare
example of a deciduous redwood that had been thought extinct but then was rediscovered in a remote
part of China.
In more recent years, my mother lived in the house on Broad St, and every fall she would complain that
people would tell her she needed to "cut down that dead tree". She would take the opportunity to
educate them, explaining that it wasn't dead. At one point, she printed out an informational sign, which
she attached to the tree, concerned that someone would come along and cut it down without knowing
its story. My mother grew up in San Luis Obispo, lived in many places around the world, then returned
to live in San Luis. She loves this city and has spent many years actively working to preserve its
character and heritage.
I regret the damage to the neighbor's pond, but in my opinion, the tree is of greater value to the
neighborhood and the city. The tree is mature and healthy and doing what trees do. It may be
damaging the pond, but isn't it also stabilizing the hillside? Also, isn't it easier to relocate a pond than a
very large tree? It was pointed out to me that we don't need to save the tree because one can get a
dawn redwood at any nursery. Seedlings might be abundant, but it’s not so easy to find a fifty year old
dawn redwood in this county.
Thank you for your consideration
Lucy Ruth Wright Rivers
lucyruth@velociter.net
6535 Mobley Rd Stockton CA 95215