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This summer, Mountain View axed dozens of deteriorating trees lining the street in front of the public library and in nearby Pioneer Park, determining their demise was likely due to the use of imazapyr, a weed-killing herbicide. Since then, city staff have stopped using imazapyr and are now presenting a replanting plan for the lost trees.
The Parks and Recreation Commission weighed in on the proposal Wednesday evening, generally favoring the city’s approach to replacing the felled trees while expressing a preference for using local native species. They also supported establishing new pollinator gardens outside City Hall and in Pioneer Park.
“I realize it’s a tough situation,” Commissioner Jonathan Davis said at the Nov. 4 meeting. “It could be looked at as a big screw up at some point, but I think what’s great is the approach going forward.”
In total, Mountain View has cut down nearly three dozen so far, including a row of mature sycamores along Franklin Street. However, the loss could end up being much greater. The city has identified 150 more trees showing signs of deterioration similar to the ones that were felled. Of those, about 30 trees are likely to recover, according to Russell Hansen, the city’s urban forestry manager.
“As far as the other ones go, I’m going to say, it’s very, very limited,” Hansen said. “There might be two or three of those that we’re going to be able to save.”
To mitigate the loss of the trees by the library, the city has devised a plan to plant 21 replacement trees along Franklin Street and six more around Pioneer Park, according to Tim Youngberg, the city’s parks and open space manager. Six additional replacement trees will be planted after consulting with the public works department about construction projects near the library and performing arts center.
“We’re going to figure out the best timeline of getting these trees in, giving them the best opportunity to succeed,” Youngberg said.
Hansen noted that none of the replacement trees will be put in the ground until imazapyr levels have sufficiently dropped in the soil. Initial testing showed the herbicide’s presence in the soil. Updated samples from impacted areas were taken in October but testing results have not come back yet, he said.
Some community members and local environmental groups have pushed the city to halt its use of herbicides entirely, not just imazapyr. Silja Paymer, who is a frontrunner in the race for City Council, urged the city to take this step at Wednesday’s meeting.
“I still would like a moratorium on toxins until we figure it out,” Paymer said. “I don’t see that it would be devastating for us to take a break and reassess going forward.”
Mountain View is currently updating its pest management plan, according to Youngberg. He noted that the city is exploring herbicide-free parks and has stopped all herbicide applications in tree wells, in addition to implementing other practices to improve biodiversity.
City staff plan to bring the updated pest management plan to the Parks and Recreation Commission early next year, Youngberg said.
The Parks and Recreation Commission ultimately backed the tree replacement plan as well as a plan to add pollinator gardens at two sites, one near the City Hall staff breakroom and the other at the former time-capsule site in Pioneer Park.
While some commissioners worried about the gardens being trampled or difficult to maintain with the current level of city staffing, others saw it as an opportunity to inform the public about the value of native plants and habitats.
“I like it as an educational opportunity,” said Commissioner IdaRose Sylvester who currently has the most votes in the City Council race. “Maybe you have a plaque that says, ‘Welcome, please interact with this garden, touch these things, smell these things.’”
Several public commentators spoke in support of the city’s efforts to replace the axed trees and to incorporate more biodiversity around the library and Pioneer Park. A few however urged city staff to go a step further and focus more on local native species as replacement trees.
“We need to have a little more tolerance for things that don’t go right in the footprint that we’re used to,” said Shani Kleinhaus, an environmental advocate for the Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance. “We need to go local and not bring things that actually could degrade the genetic ecosystem here.”
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