City apologizes for tree fiasco

It is unbelievable how these people think an apology will be the end of it. Those involved in this fiasco should be fired, investigated for possible breaches of the law and/or local regulations, and sued for damages as far as that is possible.

To add insult to injury, I would not be surprised if at least some of those responsible are members of the same union that is now blackmailing the city with a strike.

The city feels that constant apologies will absolve the council and city leaders from taking any responsibility for their action or lack thereof. In the last year we have had apologies for the PACT fiasco, the HSR fiasco and now the tree cutting fiasco.
Fortunately two of the council members involved are not running for re-election and two are being termed out (one of those two is the primary person responsible for the HSR fiasco). One is running for -re-election. we can send a message by booting Larry Klein off the council in November.

College Terrace Resident-

I suppose it is possible that chimps have finally learned to log onto a computer and post things on the Internet.

Read what you wrote. Is that something someone rational would say?

College Terrace Resident:

You sure don't help support the claim of Palo Alto being an enlightened city. The decision to chop the trees down came from management. No Union member has anywhere near the authority to decide this. Maybe they're trying to make Cal Ave look like Tucson.

Darwin, you are funny.... CTR just one more sick Palo Alto resident.

To "Lineman" -

Check your facts on who authorized what. It actually was an SEIU member who independently authorized the contractor to start work without proper process and approvals.

Even in the city's apology there is no reason for such a tree removal plan (why cut down the trees, why was a plan even generated in 2005, were the trees too big for their location, were they sick, were they threatened?). Did someone just want to change them because they like a different type of tree? The whole country is in a budget crisis. Why are we spending money to change trees at this time (not mentioned is the cost of the removal, the time we are paying people to discuss and study this plan, etc)? The street was beautiful with the trees in the first place. If this is how our elected officials spend money, then we need new ones. In a public relations fiasco, you'd think they would do a better job explaining rather than just an "I'm sorry."

This last point is the key one. Why is this a good thing to spend money on. If you want to take out trees, how about all the magnolias that have cost the city a fortune in damaged sewers, sidewalks, and other infrastructure?

Facts,

Could you show me where it's written that an SEIU member authorized the contractor? Glenn Roberts didn't release the name of the person responsible.

I'll admit if I was wrong.

Why don't they cut down some of the sycamore trees? They've sent me home coughing and congested too many times.

To "Lineman" -

You'll can't get City officials to release the names of the employes involved now - they can't; it's protect by California labor law until the disciplinary process is completed, and that can take months due to the proscribed process for hearings, appeals, etc.

All anyone can say at this point is to tell people to check the names of the staff who were involved and draw their own conclusions.

Checking the name of the project manager/engineer would be a good place to start.

Sycamores are actually one of the best street trees available, due to their moderate growth, good structure, disease resistance, and non invasive root growth.

Where is the mayor???
What has he said about this?
For those of us (including myself) who voted for him
I expect more.

Someone should be fired for this, thats a given. Instead of hearing apologies, I would like to hear how the city plans to make California Avenue right. Changing lanes, bigger sidewalks, parking, and chopping down all the trees doesn't sound like an improvement. California Ave might not look like much, but its ours.

Where are those tree sitters when you need them??

[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]

I recommend that close attention be given to the arborist's report regarding the health of the trees and any sidewalk displacement. Although the City now claims that all were diseased, I greatly greatly doubt it. The stumps look healthy, The vegetation (when it was there before cutting) showed nothing unusual. I see very little sidewalk displacement. As a working hypothesis, I believe that DPW/the designer wanted to start over with new trees in different locations because of the change to be made in street width/lanes (see University Ave tree wells) and tried to sneek this one by so they could work with a blank slate. If the trees were diseased, why did they not remove the same type of oaks in the nearby area that are not on Cal Ave? If I am right, what we have is not incompetence but something worse -- staff manipulating the Council and the public to drive its own agenda. Let the public see the arborist's report and examine the remaining oaks on the side streets and in parking lots to see if they are diseased.

To "T.J." -

Where does the City claim that all of the trees were diseased? The statements I have seen attribute that to only part of the issue, and, in fact, state that urban design considerations were part of the decision. That criteria was documented as far back as 2005 in the grant application with supporting letters fom Canopy and College Terrace Residents Association.

It looks like you have made an incorrect statement of the background in order to justify your own predetermined conclusion of staff manipulation.

How about checking your facts before you make such insideous accusations? I guess that doesn't matter to you - just throw mud around and hope some of it sticks, whether it's true or not. How pathetic!

This story isn't over yet. The original story said some 63 trees had been removed. Though not a regular on Cal Ave, I was there at 5:00 p.m. Sunday night and decided to survey the damage. I counted 14 stumps hurriedly, all on the south (?) side of the street.

Except for some hedge areas on the opposite side of the street (Mollie Stone side) I could find NO HOLES IN THE SIDEWALK awaiting new plantation. What I did see were numerous new squares of cement where filling or repair work had been recently done. There were a few more of these on the south side as well. It looks as if 63 trees is not nearly the number of trees that will be replanted. Is there any source where we can see the final plans for the street?

I fear that narrowing the street will allow trees to be planted in a center median (in the best of all possible worlds), but it will be difficult to walk under those trees.

And speaking of walkability, stretches of the sidewalk are easily 10 or 12 feet wide. Heck you could have a full-blown riot and never have to step off the sidewalk.

What are the developers up to? Who knows about it?

We had some experience with city tree department a couple months ago. It was not pleasant. I would give them 3 out of 10 for their works on my case.

What happened in my case is not relevant here. What I want to say is, I want to see someone being fired because of this tree chopping case. I went to California Ave every week. It definitely looks ugly now.

And you said my tax paid those guys?

The reason is $$. If the landscaper/contractor cuts down the trees, then they can get more $$ for cutting them down, and then more $$ for replacing them. They don't care about Palo Alto and it's residents. It's all about the $$ and screwing the residents of Palo Alto.

The heck with firing some random individual for this, that is typical pointless vindictiveness. If you know the way politics works the person who got fired would have nothing to do with the incident.

There is a pattern of incompetency and abuse and I would not be surprised if it was worse in this city. It is all about making a network of rip off professional referral relationships and not having to pay taxes to actually do something about the city.

These days I wish I still lived in Mountain View sometimes the way this city seems to be falling apart. So many people say Palo Alto is nothing like it used to be anymore.

Let's get rid of the whole group of people running this town and re-evaluate with a new group in there what the heck is going on.

The City apologizes, and so far all we hear from CAADA is about the "happiness" among the merchants over the clear cutting of over five dozen trees; on Calif. Ave.? Unbelievable!

The board members of CAADA need to stand before the public at a city council meeting and explain exactly what their motive is in this whole mess. I want to hear straight from Ronna Devincenzi's mouth exactly which merchants expressed "happiness" with the wholesale slaughter of 63 lovely shade trees. Clueless? Delusional? It's hard to say which term applies... perhaps both. Thanks Ronna, but we're not drinking your Kool Aid...

I still don't understand how this didn't get reported to the city while it happening. I understand that this event happened over a 3 day period. Didn't anyone see them doing it? Why was there no notification while it was being done? (If I had seen it, I would have certainly called the city immediately.)

The Holly Oaks were ruining the sidewalks and would only get worse... AND many were diseased.
You nay-sayers, arm-chair politicians are impossible to sooth. I believe will only drop this bone when the next low-hanging fruit arrives. But, in the mean-time, and for all of our sakes, let it go and get on with your lives.
California Street merchants still have customers, the city is moving ahead with a beautifican project.
Cal Ave/Cambridge avenues were a standing disgrace to Palo Alto City. We have top-end investors staking a claim there in business rental offices. Let them have a beautiful face befitting the international name Palo Alto deserves without so much local, small-minded malice.
Hey! What ever happened to the artist's vision of a graceful awnings giving shade for a temporary look? Has anyone moved that positive note along?

Dear PR: There is a great comments article in today's paper, with council and council candidates included.

Dear Yosemite Sam: Good for you to buck up against the rest of the voices here. Geez. Who here is sick to death of "Fire them All!" ?Yes, right, Anchary is better than people who actually show up in person and think about city services daily if not weekly. Electronic cowboys do not rule... even me. I can blow just like the rest of you.

Dear Tom Jordan: You can tell by the stumps they were healthy? Wow. That's amazing. Thanks for helping our readers feel more insecure frightened and anxious with your vetted hypothesis.

Someone posted this quote in another forum a long time ago, and I happened to save it--

"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the Eyes of others only a Green thing that stands in the way." William Blake, 1799

For the voices here in support of this city action, saying the city is showing up for work and doing its job is what people are complaining about NOT being true.

Things like this are exactly why people are time and time are disappointed in what this city does, the way it does it, who it pleasese or displeases when it does it.

I go down to California Ave. area at least once a week or more and never have noticed a problem with the trees I do notice a problem whenever the city allows a huge building to be built though, in aesthetics, and in lack of parking and traffic planning.

I always like to bring up the broken bar on the rail of the Alma/Embarcadero underpass and how that has been bent and broken for decades. Then there is whatever it is at the University/101 interchange, ... a corporate fortress? is that what that is?

Anon: Non-sequiturs, through and through.

Well, perhaps "Mr. Spock" could explain what the hypothesis my premises and conclusions were that he couldn't understand enough to bring anything but a personal attack against?

Hey everybody! I don't like the empty street either. i was really shocked by the bare nakedness, but now that the heat of the summer is gone, I am REALLY glad we get to have a shiny new downtown.
I always thought it was unfair and like I was living on the wrong side of the tracks with a broken up California Ave looking like it did. I always worried about the poor merchants, because they just didn't get the people stopping in. Even the train commuters zipped right past all of them except maybe Starbucks.
I am really hoping the new look will make this part of Palo Alto be excellent and really cool. Even better than the primary downtown.
More Poppy-shade tables! Flat streets and sidewalks!! Pretty trees!!!

Can I help? Is there a Citizen's Sign-up sheet plan to help the our downtown get up the ladder another rung??

I shopped on California on Wednesday, 23rd, and the stumps of the trees were being ground out. By Sunday, 27th, when I returned to the Avenue the areas where the stumps had been ground out were cemented over. What does this mean?
Is the city going to plant the trees in new areas? Meaning they will take up pavement somewhere else and dig new holes? Are they not planning on replacing the trees even though they have stated more trees will be planted? I hope the Weekly will look into this new development and find out why these areas are being cemented over.

Much has been made of the fact that the merchants and the city approved this “beautification” program in 2005. Given the current financial climate wouldn’t it have been fiscally prudent of the city to revisit such an expensive project? Several of the merchants currently on California Avenue were not there in 2005. I also would like to know which merchants are happy with this situation. The merchant I spoke to has already had to spend quite a bit of money buying new blinds for his front windows because the heat of sun has made that section of the store unbearable to work in.

The sudden removal of a tree canopy on the street is also causing many of the plants in containers to die as they have lost all of their shade.

Finally, I am stunned that although the city appears to be no closer to a solution for solving the problems with our branch library system (something they have been working on for years), they have managed to take out 63 trees, grind away their stumps, and concrete over the holes in less than two weeks. It seems odd that such a destructive act could occur here so quickly when so many constructive possibilities have been studied and analyzed to death by the infamous “Palo Alto Process.”

Nice post Andrea,

The results of the city's actions "seem" to be not in line with many of the people's thinking. Is the only way we measure this or remember it an election every few years, why do we not get some better way to have input over what goes on in the city - and also measure the satisfaction of Palo Altans over this kind of stuff?

Posted by Resounding logic and common sense, a member of the Fairmeadow School community:

"Cal Ave/Cambridge avenues were a standing disgrace to Palo Alto City. We have top-end investors staking a claim there in business rental offices. Let them have a beautiful face befitting the international name Palo Alto deserves without so much local, small-minded malice."

Ronna Divincenzi is the officer of a Development Association.

The trees were cut down for the future development of California Avenue properties for the benefit of the "top-end investors staking a claim there in business rental offices.".

Anon: Nice post? Wow - as much as I have an afternoon off and am sadistically curious, like watching a traffic accident site, who are you? Rating the postings in-line with you? I would ask the city why cement is over th old stump holes. I am guessing it is becaus ethis isnt' the tim of year or time in the project plan and they don't want people to trip and fall into old tree holes.

Ask someone who knows if youhave a question. Stop trying to rais ethe ire and angst of the public with open-ended leading questions.

Tell me Anon, Do you still beat your dog?

See what I mean? This is not a good public question question. You probably don't have a dog nor if you did, you were always kind to it, but the question sits out there like a buzzing gnat.

No, sorry Amos, I don't see what you mean.

First they cut down the trees when it is not time to move ahead with the project? Then pay extra to fill the holes with cement. I wonder how many city dweebs are posting trying to make this look better for them, or like more people agree with them than really do?

You should feel free to try to cough out your points, but not to tell me what to say or what my goal is. It is still a free country unless you offend the censor at PAO.

Sorry you don't get it. Good luck with your plight.

and good luck with your jokes .... don't quit your day job.

After reading the comments on this site for the past two weeks I can honestly say that the only non-sequiturs have been posted by "Resounding logic, a member of the Fairview School Community".

As a member of the California/Cambridge Avenue community for more than 15 years I can only speculate why you'd think that "Cal Ave/Cambridge avenues were a standing disgrace to Palo Alto City."

You probably also think that Ronna Devincenzi is doing a fine job.
Perhaps you can hire her to transform the Fairview School Community like she wanted to do that "standing disgrace" called California Avenue!

This was all a scam on the people of Palo Alto.... anyone who knows how politics works, especially politics at the city council level, knows how this came about. It was likely discussed behind closed doors, and quietly approved.

Is always easier to deal out an apology, rather than fight community resistance. Gee, who was benefitting from this "beautification" project?? Who stood to lose money from community objections if "discussed" plans fell through? How odd that the trees were cut so quickly, the offensive cutting starting the very same day the proposal was submitted. How odd that this happened now, in this economic environment, with budget cuts pending.

How odd.

A result of running the city with contractors and sub-contractors to do the work.. Oop

'Resounding logic'really must have an inflated sense of his/her opinions if we're expected to swallow such Orwellian logic as this:

"Cal Ave/Cambridge avenues were a standing disgrace to Palo Alto City."

Disgrace?! Are you actually serious? Did I miss something? Did the City of Palo Alto actually make a statement that the Calif./Cambridge Aves. were a "standing disgrace?! What rubbish!! Have you actually spent any time in the Cal Ave./Cambridge Ave. district? You're obviously drinking from the same trough of Kool Aid served up by Ronna Devincenzi and the cronies at CAADA.

As usual the comments by EJ (above) are right on target.

Whoever cut down the trees and is part of the management team of this employee should be fired. I can't remember a time when someone has messed up as bad as this and still gets to keep their jobs. They must have had some previous experience as CA legislators. Poor Job=Fired

For those interested in justice as well as action below is a list of meetings that we should be attending in order to make the decisions that WE can live with:

When: Monday, 10/5 starting at 7pm, position
> on agenda TBD
> What: City Council meeting
> What: Public Works reports on the project
> approval process and
> schedule and the outcome of meeting with CANOPY to
> discuss the tree
> replacement
>
>
> When: Thursday, 10/8, 6:30 p.m.
> Where: Escondido School
> What: Public Works will be holding a community
> meeting to discuss
> the entire project focusing on the tree issues
>
>
>
> When: Thursday, 10/15, 8:00 a.m. (yes,
> morning)
> What: The Architectural Review Board
> will discuss the
> streetscape project, focusing on the design elements
> including the trees.
>
>
>
> When: Wednesday, 10/28, 7:00 p.m.
> What: Planning and Transportation Commission
> What: will discuss the entire project focusing
> on the
> transportation improvements Source: College
> Terrace Residents'
> Association news
>
>
SEE YOU THERE!!!

I applaud Andrew (above), for applauding (above, even higher) EJ!

Re; The trees of california Street ---Palo Alto's governance is either acting on an unpopular or unrevealed agenda, or they are asleep at the wheel.... either way, I'm not too keen on my tax dollars paying for any of them and their suspect leadership.