By Khalida Sarwari
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? That question is still being debated, but one thing is for certain: If a tree were to fall in Saratoga, the residents would make a far louder sound.
It’s no secret that Saratogans love their trees. The city has been designated a “Tree City” and even keeps an inventory list of the most unique and beautiful trees in town.
A couple of trees have recently sparked concern among a number of residents, an oak and a beloved stone pine in Blaney Plaza. Both are caught in the crossfire of the Village Improvement Project.
The second phase of the renovation project is a $1 million effort focused on improving pedestrian access and safety in the area surrounding Blaney Plaza.
As part of the project, crews are making electrical and landscape upgrades at Blaney Plaza, replacing the asphalt with decorative concrete on the road between Blaney Plaza and Starbucks, installing removable bollards at the crosswalk of the “spur road” to block off traffic during events or the farmers market at the plaza, and most controversially, paving the road for two additional parking spaces.
When the city council approved funding for the project in October of last year, everyone but Jill Hunter–who was mayor at the time–was on board. Hunter acknowledged that while she was initially supportive of putting parking spaces there, she didn’t realize how extensive the project would be. After casting the only dissenting vote at the Oct. 2 meeting, she said, “I’m honestly afraid for those two trees. I think we’re really coming after them in a big way. I think they’re very old and very tenuous.”
Few people in Saratoga are stronger advocates of trees than Hunter, who 10 years ago founded the Heritage Tree Society, a group that, according to its website, “is dedicated to protecting, preserving and recognizing significant trees in Saratoga.” Several residents have been in regular contact with her since at least last month, asking her for her help in saving at least the stone pine tree.
Because the work has already begun, Hunter seemed doubtful about how much of an impact she could have at this point.
“I can only say that I am crossing my fingers that the two heritage trees, the stone pine and the oak, located in the plaza survive all the construction and that we have not shortened their lives in the process,” she said. “If we lose them I believe many of the citizens will be devastated. The look of Saratoga will be changed.”
Hunter’s colleague on the council, Vice Mayor Howard Miller, begs to differ. He noted that the design simply calls for replacing the existing road with a new road and that it was “carefully considered with respect to the trees.” The sideways near the stone pine will remain untouched, he said. The complaint letters he and his fellow council members have received are based on misinformation, he added.
“By design, the project was put together in a way to not impact that tree, and before any execution we had contingency plans, and none of that had to be put in place because there are no roots at the place that the people are talking about,” he said.
There were some minor surface roots near the oak tree, but those were well under the 2-inch limit cited by arborist Kate Bear, Miller said.
Miller also addressed concerns by some that the construction work was unsupervised. He said Bear was on site every day and that the city brought in two independent arborists to monitor the project, along with other city staff.
“Both said there doesn’t seem to be an impact to the stone pine, and with the oak, they said it’d be fine but recommended water and mulch changes,” Miller said. “We were already watering both trees in preparation and in conjunction with the project.”
Apart from putting in these extra measures to protect the tree, the parking spaces will be constructed with pavers on sand to allow water to infiltrate down to the roots, he said.
Miller argued that the project was “well planned, well orchestrated” and would proceed as planned and be completed by late fall.
“We have a great project, and we are going far and above the call of the duty to make sure these trees aren’t impacted in a negative way,” he assured.
Blair Glenn, owner of the Saratoga Tree Service and one of the two independent arborists associated with the project, doesn’t appear to be as optimistic. It is inevitable that there will be an impact to the health of the trees as the section of the road proposed for removal is under a significant portion of the drip line of both the trees, Glenn noted. This will only be exacerbated by the severe drought that’s evident in the change in foliage and the reduction in needle mass, he said.
“Had this been done during a damper period of year, then the damage to the root zone would likely be lessened,” he said.
There should have been more of an effort to irrigate the tree and take preventative measures prior to the excavation of the site, he said. “Ideally it would have been better to not do any of this at all.”
But, the damage started a long time ago with other construction projects in the area and the tree was already showing signs of drought stress, Glenn said. He worries that because the city is taking on a project that has sent some people into an uproar, if the tree’s health does begin to decline, those people will blame the city.
Glenn’s priority going forward is to assess the existing damage and determine how best to mitigate the problems as well as preserve the remaining portion of the stone pine’s root system.
The good news is that trees are stronger than most people give them credit for.
“I’m always surprised at how tough trees can be,” Glenn said. “Many, many times you’ll see that the trees hang in there and they’ll survive the impact of the damage.”
Meanwhile, some residents are trying to bring the project to a halt. In letters exchanged between a core of people dedicated to protecting the stone pine, including Hunter, some suggested consulting an attorney and possibly seeking litigation, making T-shirts to spread awareness, and even physically obstructing the progress of the project.
“I am willing to lie down in the ditch to call attention to this destruction, put up signs and chain myself to this tree,” said Dina Cotton, one of about a handful of outspoken opponents of the project, along with Joe Jamello and his wife, Nancy Jamello, Marilyn Marchetti and Marcia Fariss.
Kathy Forte wondered about the utility of putting in additional parking in an area that she thinks doesn’t need it.
“Somehow as I drive past Blaney Plaza each morning I cannot help but think of the great song ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ written by Joni Mitchell in 1970 with the refrain, ‘They paved paradise to put up a parking lot,’ ” Forte said.
Details about the project can be found on the city’s website at saratoga.ca.us/cityhall/pw/projects/street.asp.
Link: Some Saratogans worry that Blaney Plaza upgrade will damage trees
