Tree Pruning

Hi Michael!

As a landscape designer and long time resident of Eagle Rock, I feel the need to vent about an issue that is extremely distressing to me - the horrible pruning of trees I've noticed in our neighborhoods. Recently, the city pruned the lovely row of Sweet Gums on the 4700 block of Vincent Ave - the homeowners were rightly concerned about falling branches and got the city to come out and take care of the situation. My problem is the terrible job done by the city tree pruners.

What was a lovely, shady street is now going to be blasting with sun all summer long, which will cause people to use more air conditioning than they previously would have. The lovely, park like quality the street had is gone. The city workers cut the lower branches flush with the tree trunks so far up that those trees may never effectively shade those homes during the hot summer months again, which is exactly why they were planted years ago.

Most old SoCal bungalow neighborhoods have homes that were designed to stay cool in the summer (attic ventilation, strategically placed windows, thick exterior walls) and the tree canopy is an integral part of that.

Too often as I drive around Eagle Rock, I see trees cut within an inch of their lives, obviously done by inexperienced laborers that have no idea that there is a proper way to do this work. The fact that the city tree pruners are among the worst I've ever seen is a huge shock. It looks to me like the men who leave their cards on our door steps offering their services are looking to these city trees as their template, and that may be why pruning suffers so much in our community.

I work on gardens all over the city. I know that if these kind of pruning jobs were done on the westside, it would be an enormous issue. I encourage homeowners to take care when hiring someone to cut their trees - hire someone with a reputation! Ask to see pictures of their work! Trees are valuable assets to our homes, and once ruined, they can't be repaired. It can take over twenty years for a tree to grow to mature size, and tens of thousands of dollars to purchase and plant a mature tree (if you can find one for sale!) As for the quality of work the city provides - I'm at a loss... What can we do? Does anyone else care, or is this just the pet peeve of a busybody landscaper?

Sincerely,

I. Soler, Townsend Ave

Thanks, Ivette. I don't know how much good it will do, but you might want to call the City of Los Angeles Urban Forestry Division and let the City know about what a poor job its sub-contractors are doing. If you can remember the date the trees were trimmed, you should tell them that too, as well as the specific location. I know that at least some of the people in Urban Forestry really care about what happens to the City's trees and if someone is butchering them, the City should know about it. You can try calling 311 or the phone number I have is 213-847-3077.

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Sent: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 9:00 AM

Subject: Women's Club Planting Day

Dear TERA,

Thank you, once again, for including our event in your e-letter. While we can always use volunteers for our events, we feel that informing Eagle Rockers of what we are doing to maintain our landmark building is important, too. We appreciate your continuing support of our efforts!

The WTCC Landscaping Committee

It's our honor to support the efforts of the WTCC. What a great part of Eagle Rock's history you are!

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Subject: re: Fat Dog Restaurant

Hello. When is the next public meeting regarding the Fat Dog Restaurant?

Thanks!!

Rebecca

Bughouse

It's my understanding that the matter of the application by Fat Dog for a CUP for sale of alchohol for on-site consumption will be considered again by the Eagle Rock Council Planning and Land Use Committee on April 26, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. or thereafter in the basement of Eagle Rock City Hall. However, you should check the ERNC e-mails and agendas as that date gets closer, since the agenda can always change. TERA has no control over this.

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Dear Mike:

Thanks for the great update on the proposed Fat Dog Restaurant. It's most interesting to see the pros and cons of the issue. As I mentioned before, the fact that the project is over 2500 sq. feet, was to take care of businesses that just leak over the 2500 mark (say 2550-2600), not to grant more credits to much bigger projects, and take away credits from other proposals.

We just did not want to have projects have to go back "to the drawing board" with expensive variances if slightly over, and thus have option of DRB deciding. 3700+ sq. ft. is sizable, as Camilo's is only 3250, I believe.

As far as cloning yourself, it think it is a great idea. You certainly wouldn't contribute to any ugliness....and your health might improve. I've often wished for the same process. I think if we are expected to go to as many meetings as we are, the scientific & neighborhood community owes us something.

Thanks, Linda Allen

Thanks, Linda. Perhaps, until the cloning process is perfected, I'll just claim to be my own evil twin and take responsibility for nothing!