Residents decry project that chops down trees
Upgrade at VA campus calls for removal of protected specimens
MENLO PARK — An issue that seems to raise the hackles of Menlo Park residents like no other is the cutting down of trees, particularly heritage oaks.
After all, the city’s official logo is the heritage oak.
So it comes as no surprise that a project underway on the Menlo Park campus of the VA Palo Alto Health Care System that involves the cutting down of 25 trees — 24 of which the VA has identified as “protected” — has generated an outcry from dozens of community members on the NextDoor website and the Menlo Park City Council’s public email log.
“Over the past several years, we have witnessed what can only be described as a ‘deforestation’ of the Menlo Oaks area — largely by developers,” residents Erin and Jeff Glanville wrote to the City Council. “Large tree canopies are very important to preserving air quality and reducing traffic noise from (Highway) 101.”
One resident, Sarah Caplan, suggested that among those on the chopping block were trees that had stood for 300 years, while another said when a heritage oak was earlier removed at the VA campus, the area “became sterile and ugly.”
“I was devastated to see a beautiful, giant old oak removed from the entrance to the VA on Willow Road to make way for a sidewalk,” Caplan wrote.
The city, which has a vigorous ordinance protecting heritage trees (which it defines as trees whose trunk circumference is at least 47.1 inches), said it has no jurisdiction over the VA campus, as it sits on federally owned land.
“They’re not required to go through the city permitting process,” said Christian Bonner, the city’s arborist. “After it was reported (in late May), the city reached out to the VA to get more information.”
The city received an email reply from the VA public affairs office June 3. Attempts by a reporter to contact the VA were unsuccessful.
In the emailed statement, the VA said the trees are being removed to improve veterans’ access to services on the campus.
“The Parking Upgrade Project ... includes building sidewalks for safe pedestrian access, creating a better flow of traffic and providing ample ADA parking,” the statement reads.
There are 48 trees in the project area, 25 of which are being removed. That includes 24 “protected” trees, of which seven are native oaks and eight are in poor to fair condition, based on a 2012 tree survey “during planning phase.” The statement added that 135 new trees, all of which would be at minimum 24-inch box trees and include 41 native oaks, would be planted after the project is completed.
Many commenters said the VA should have reached out to the city and nearby property owners about its plans before launching the project.
“I understand the VA is on federal land and they do not need to respect city rule, but we do pay more than our fair share of taxes and they owe us a conversation on what we can do together to come up with a different plan, one that does not involve removing these giants,” said Menlo Park resident Pracheeti Nagarkar Desai.
In its emailed statement, the VA said it is putting together a “workgroup to provide regular updates regarding all of the construction or changes within our facilities that may impact our surrounding communities.”
The VA said it is planning a community town hall event within the next month and encouraged those interested in the workgroup or the town hall event to sign up for the mailing list “to better direct these updates” at http://eepurl.com/b35qD.