To continue the fight, several community residents participated in a protest in front of PG&E’s downtown San Jose office on Friday May 28, 2010. PG&E continues to move forward with their plan to soon remove 14 trees in June, including the beautiful 40+ year old native oak labelled tree 13. Not only are residents fighting against this first batch of trees to be cut, but we are protesting PG&E’s plan to cut the remaining 100+ ear-marked by early 2011.
“The group delivered a letter to PG&E officials asking the utility to reconsider a decision to start with 14 tree removals in the parks in June.
In the fall, utility representatives plan to re-evaluate whether another 136 trees should be removed in the parks because they fear the trees could interfere with a high-voltage transmission line that runs to San Francisco.
Neighbors contend that all the trees are at least 10 feet below the overhead power lines, and they want the limbs to be pruned as they have been for years.”
Because the Community was at an impasse with Mr. Don Hall, Executive Manager for Sales and Service and Kamran Rasheed, Manager of Vegetation Management, a letter was sent along with a petition containing 316 signatures asking PG&E to prune, not cut 140 trees that are scheduled be destroyed over the next couple years.
This Flier was created to help instill interest for the Rally in Jeffery Fontana Park scheduled for May 22, 2010 next to Tree 13. About 900 of these Fliers were distributed throughout the neighborhoods around both Parks. The Rally had about 100 people in attendance, with several speakers inspiring people to save our Park Trees. CBS 5 Almaden Times, & KLIV media was present.
If you want to see what happened at the “Open Forum” at City Hall on May 18, 2010, then click on this link. (City Council Meeting Archive) NextClick on 5/18/10 Video; scroll down and click on “Open Forum” . You will hear from 8 Members of the Community appealing to Mayor Reed to save the Park Trees
It seems that town of Moraga has some of the same problems we have with PG&E. They surprised some Moraga residents when they started cutting mature native oaks on Mulholland Ridge without a permit. Read the whole story published by the Lamorinda Weekly on May 12th 2010.
MARTIN-FONTANA PARKS ASSOCIATION 