Blockbuster plans to redevelop North Bayshore met with widespread support at the Dec. 12 City Council meeting, but for some, the real news from last week’s intense meeting was the fate of a small grove of redwoods.
A push to protect the redwoods has touched a nerve in the Old Mountain View neighborhood. Nearly two dozen residents appealed to the City Council last week in hopes of saving 10 heritage trees planted at 575 Sierra Ave. Those trees include seven mature redwoods, each around 80 feet high, would all be chopped down to make way for a new single-family home.
“The developer is willing to maximize profit on the backs of the destruction of an irreplaceable asset,” said Kim Copher, a local real estate agent who also sits on the city’s Downtown Committee. “I’m not saying trees are more important than people, but they’re more important than dollars.”
The neighborhood desire to save the Sierra Avenue redwoods has launched an organized campaign that would rival any major advocacy issue facing the city. The group started a website and online petition that collected nearly 1,000 signatures. In addition, Copher and her husband flew a drone to film a short video showing how the colossal trees fit into the neighborhood.
City officials say they’ve never before seen such uproar in Mountain View over the loss of trees.
“I really see this as a special outlier,” said Bruce Hurlburt, city parks and open space manager. “Clearly, this has generated huge interest because there’s a large number of trees on the property; that’s why people are concerned.”
All trees of a certain height and diameter are classified as heritage trees under the city’s ordinance, but Sequoia redwoods of any size are explicitly protected. Under those rules, a property owner must first file an application before taking down any affected trees. Each tree must be considered independently on its own merits, Hurlburt said.
Most requests to remove heritage trees are granted by the city. Since July 2016, Mountain View received requests to remove about 430 trees throughout the city. The city granted permission to remove just under 280 trees, according to the Community Services Department.
But those numbers could be misleading because far more heritage trees are being chopped down. Hurlburt said his department does not track tree-removal permits that are packaged into development projects. That subset is likely a large number — to name just one example, more than 200 trees were chopped down to make way for Google’s Charleston East office campus.
The city’s Community Development Department reportedly keeps track of these tree removals, but department officials did not immediately respond to questions by the Voice.
City officials say they are still reviewing plans for development and heritage-tree removal at 575 Sierra Ave., which should take “several weeks.”
If the tree removal is granted, opponents could appeal the decision.
Email Mark Noack at mnoack@mv-voice.com
