HomeMy WebLinkAbout8/23/2021 Item 2, Cooper
Wilbanks, Megan
From:Allan Cooper <
To:Bell, Kyle; jrickenbach@slocity.org; Advisory Bodies
Subject:Letter to the Tree Committee
Attachments:908_22_21...lettertotreecommittee.pdf
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Dear Kyle & John -
Would you kindly forward the letter attached below to the
Tree Committee? This letter pertains to their August 23,
2021 review of the 600 Tank Farm Road project. Also,
would you please place this letter in the City's
Correspondence File? Thanks!
- Allan
1
To: San Luis Obispo Tree Commitee, Kyle Bell, Associate Planner &
John Rickenbach, Contract Project Manager
Re: August 23, 2021 Public Hearing Item #2: 600 Tank Farm Rd.; Review
Of The Proposed Removal Of 47 Onsite Trees And Replanting Of 236
Trees On Site. Tree Removals Are Proposed To Facilitate A Proposed
Mixed-Use Development Consisting Of 280 Residential Units And Up
To 12,500 Square Feet Of Commercial Service/Office Space
From:Allan Cooper, et. al., San Luis Obispo CA
Date: August 22, 2021
Honorable Chair Bate and Committee Members -
We do not agree with the the tree removal recommendations as proposed in this
RRM Design Group report. One of the “Terms and Conditions” listed at the end of
this report states the following: “Trees can be managed, but they cannot be
controlled. To live near trees is to accept some degree of risk. The only way to
eliminate all risk associated with trees is to eliminate all trees.” So what does this
consultant recommend? The elimination of all, but two, on-site trees!
Thirty-five (35) of the 47 Eucalyptus Globulus trees proposed to be removed have a
health rating of “moderate vigor”. These (unlike the Pepper trees) should be saved
as they clearly do not interfere with the proposed layout of this subdivision.
Twenty-four (24) of these trees have breast height trunk diameters exceeding four
feet or 48 inches. According to RRM, these 24 trees are least affected by the
Tortoise Beetle. These trees are also located at the northern end of the windrow
and appear to be stabilizing the western bank of Acacia Creek with their well-
developed root systems. As you well know, trees in riparian corridors stabilize
stream banks and reduce floodwater velocity, resulting in reduced downstream
flood peaks.
There are at least three trees 5, 8 and 1, that should be preserved simply because
they are the tallest and are said by a KMA biologist to be raptor nesting sites. Dr.
Stephen Rottenborn with the H.T. Harvey Wildlife Ecology Group studied the
nesting choices and reproductive success of red-shouldered hawks and found that
the hawks prefer eucalyptus to native trees and that their nests were more
successful when they made that choice. He attributes that greater success rate to
the fact that eucalypts are “large, sturdy trees” that provide “greater stability and
protective cover.
RRM states that “At over a century old, many of the blue gums are nearing the end
of their lifespan…” . This is patently untrue. Blue gum trees live in Australia
200-400 years (see: Growth Habits of the Eucalypts by M.R. Jacobs, Institute of
Foresters of Australia, 1955, 1986). Since eucalyptus trees have more predators in
Australia than they do in California, we should expect them to live longer
here. RRM also states that epicormic growth means the tree is dying. This is also
untrue. Eucalyptus trees respond to drought and other stresses by shedding leaves
to reduce moisture loss through transpiration. Later, they can grow new leaves and
branches from “epicormic buds” buried deep under the bark. It’s a defense
mechanism that keeps the tree alive, not a sign that it’s dying.
Judging from these trees’ extraordinary diameters, many of them were planted
around the time Eucalyptus trees were first introduced to California (around 1850).
Eucalyptus trees are hardy and can survive increasingly hot weather and
prolonged droughts. After all, according to fossil records, these trees have been
around for 109 million years. That means that they have survived two major heat
spikes: the Cretaceous Hot Greenhouse climate 92 million years ago and the
Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum climate 56 million years ago.
Please do not allow another development-related clear cut to go forward. Thank
you!