With apologies to William Blake or Robert Frost et al, sometimes a single picture can do a better job telling a story than words can...the old 'thousand words' aphorism. Such is the case with Emeryville's Sherwin Williams street trees controversy. The Emeryville City Hall staff, seeking to assist the out of town developer Lennar Urban who wants to cut down all our trees abutting their proposed project and seeking to 'unify the streetscape', has gone to absurd, some would say unethical lengths to get the trees cut down. Consider the testimony the staff provided to the Planning Commission on March 15th. The Commission might as well vote to kill the trees and plant new lollipop replacements because the trees in question are unhealthy anyway the staff said.
Where the Planning Commission saw the sickly and dying trees the staff wanted them to (culminating in a unanimous vote to cut them all down), the City Council instead agreed with the City's paid arborist that the trees in question are generally healthy.
The ultimate vote is pending following a new argument presented to the Council by a chastened and cloistered staff at some unannounced later date, perhaps in September.
The story can be followed in (verbose) detail HERE & HERE.
Meanwhile, take a gander at the photo below and use your own judgement. The tree on the left is called "unhealthy" by our City staff and worthy of nothing more than a chainsaw while the tree on the right is "healthy" and is OK to continue to live. These public policy makers have determined one is desirable and the other is undesirable. What do you think?
What can we learn from the photo about who's interests matter at Emeryville City Hall?
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| Looking Down the Middle of Horton Street At Emeryville City Hall, the tree on the left is considered "unhealthy" while the tree on the right is considered "healthy". A developer with a chain saw awaits our decision about these, our street trees. Who's interests are being listened to at City Hall? |
Brian - my understanding, confirmed by Sharon Wilchar at the last Coop Board meeting, is that the matter will come up before the Council on July 10th. Is that correct or is it as you say, September?
ReplyDeleteThanks - Bob Hughes
I get the September date from the lead staff person at City Hall for this project. She told me to expect this to be brought back to Council at the second meeting in September, possibly as late as October. This was confirmed last week.
DeleteSeptember is confirmed by the Planning Director this morning. It could be as late as October he reports.
DeleteYour haters are certainly quiet. I think after they kept badgering you about how these trees are dead and dying before the trees leafed out for summer, now they're embarrassed that they were obviously wrong. That's what the Cult of Rob has become: so angry about everything Tattler they're not able to remember deciduous trees loose their leaves in the winter. I'm serious- I think they forgot about deciduous trees and they thought bare branches mean dead.
ReplyDeleteThe staff just wants to help the developer and they probably hoped enough Emeryvillians forgot about deciduous trees to get a yes to cut vote from the council.
Thanks to the Tattler for remembering some trees loose their leaves in the winter!
Thanks, except I didn't remind people of that. I simply reported that the arborists retained by the City had determined the trees are mostly healthy (two out of the 14 are considered fair/poor). I'm not sure if any of the haters don't know that deciduous trees drop their leaves in the winter, I doubt it...I think they're just contrarians against anyone they think aren't in their tribe.
DeleteThanks for the comment.