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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/7/2020 Item 2, Boaz Wilbanks, Megan Subject:RE: 1446 Nipomo, SLO - December 7, 2020 Tree Committee Meeting From: TRISH BOAZ < Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2020 7:56 AM To: Wilbanks, Megan <mwilbank@slocity.org> Subject: Re: 1446 Nipomo, SLO - December 7, 2020 Tree Committee Meeting Hi Megan. Thank you for your prompt reply. I have one correction to my letter. My brother John planted the tree in 1978 (not 1980). Please let the committee know. Trish On Oct 27, 2020, at 7:52 AM, Wilbanks, Megan <mwilbank@slocity.org> wrote: Good Morning, Thank you for taking the time to contact the Tree Committee on this topic; your message has been provided directly to them. Your remarks have been added to the Agenda Correspondence record for the December 7, 2020 Tree Committee Special Meeting. City Clerk's Office City Administration 990 Palm, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3249 E cityclerk@slocity.org T (805) 781-7100 1 Wilbanks, Megan From:Trish Boaz < PM To:Combs, Ron Cc:Advisory Bodies Subject:1446 Nipomo, SLO - December 7, 2020 Tree Committee Meeting Honorable Chair and members of the Tree Committee: My name is Tricia Chasuk Boaz, daughter of Dolores Bassi Chasuk, owner of 1446 Nipomo, San Luis Obispo. Dolores was born in Templeton in 1924. Her mother moved her and her two siblings, the late James Bassi and Bernice Bassi, to 1446 Nipomo in the late 1930s. She graduted from San Luis Obispo High School, and worked at Camp San Luis Obispo. She graduated from Stanford, and taught at San Jose State, where she met my father, a graduate of Santa Clara Law School. Very long amazing story short--- they raised 8 children, four of them Cal Poly graduates. When my brother and I were at Cal Poly together in the late 70's, I remember the senior projects my parents allowed to be conducted at 1446, including my late brother John's project - which included planting the eucalyptus. This tree was planted in 1980. It is not a native tree, it is not a centennial tree. If anyone has a reason to NOT remove the tree, it is my mother - because her son that passed suddenly at the age of 53 - planted it. She and my father enjoyed looking at the tree from the deck of the townhome they built together on the same lot. We all reminisced about the good times at 1446 - now my father Al and my brother John occupy a plot at Old Mission Cemetary, less than a mile from 1446. It is hard to read the emails from the people opposing removal of the tree, because they do not know what it is to really love that tree. We do. This was not an easy decision for our family. I graduated from Cal Poly in 1982, a business administration major. Today, I am executive director of the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy in San Diego County. I am a former Chief of Resource Management at the County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation, responsible for the development of resource management and vegetation management plans for thousands of acres of open space preserves. I know a few things about trees, vegetation communities, climate change and the damage that can be done when measures are not taken to protect the public. Trees 1 are a great asset to combat climate change, sequestering carbon, providing shade and cooling neighborhoods. We are believers. Our family planted almost 50 native redwood and oak trees on our property in northern California. When you look at our home on the map here, you can barely see the house for the trees! As mentioned in the arborist report, we are replacing the eucalyptus tree with more trees. From reading the reasons in the letters submitted to date by people opposing the removal of this tree, it is apparent that they need to plant some trees in their own yards to enjoy. Most of the neighbors' correspondence in opposition to removing the tree is based on its aesthetics, not facts. Yes, the tree is beautiful, yes it stands out because there are not a lot of other trees in the neighborhood. But the threat it causes to the safety of the community is not visible to everyone's eye - especially those that are not experts. This eucalyptus tree is documented in the arborist report as a tree that should be removed. It is potentially rotting. It has uprooted the porch, and cracked the sidewalk and curbs. I have no doubt if any of the neighbors trip on the sidewalk or curb and suffer injuries, or if any of their family members are injured or killed by this leaning, rotting tree, that they would go after our family for monetary damages. In San Diego, there have been several tragic tree falls, that resulted in the loss of life, lawsuits and monetary settlements. None of us want this to happen. My 96-year old mother was at the property on October 26, 2020, with our property manager. She took a step on the lawn and fell backward, her foot caught in the sidewalk crack caused by the root of this tree, and suffered a head injury, documented by the emergency department at Sierra Vista. It could have been a lot worse, thank God it wasn't! 2 Please support the application to remove the tree at 1446 Nipomo, as recommended by a certified arborist. We appreciate the opportunity to provide our comments and look forward to participating in the meeting scheduled fo December 7, 2020. If you require additional information, please let me know. Sincerely, Tricia Chasuk Boaz 858-472-3075 boazsd@aol.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/trish-boaz-a986bb4a/ 3