Remember that whole sycamore hullabaloo last year? The guilty party in the tree-cutting fiasco has quietly moved on, and the property has apparently completed escrow for sale to a new buyer.

At least that’s what we are all left to assume. Real estate agent Terry Kelly has remained secretive about the sale, and never returned WGx phone calls. Other realtors have also noted Terry’s silence on the property.

So, it’s sold. WGx – and undoubtedly the neighbors along Willow and Camino Ricardo – can’t wait to read the next chapter.

Hey, is anyone gonna chop down the Lincoln Avenue Stump? On this Super Bowl Sunday, WGx is taking bets on its over-under prospects. How long ’til someone puts it totally out of its misery?

Sure, it used to be a tree … and a few big branches did fall off during January’s big storm, but did it deserve to be clipped so mercilessly?

It may not be an infamous sycamore tree, but it is part of a residential property, squeezed in between two commercial buildings on Lincoln Avenue, just south of Malone. Just across the street, a horribly-pruned, multi-stumped tree awaits city permits to bulldoze the whole building.

If the homeowner won’t chop this one all the way down, maybe the city can help. Or maybe the owner of the no-longer-obscured billboard can chip in to cover some of the cost.

Trees are back in the news this week … but not because there is actual news. The City of San José is hosting two community meetings this week on the topic of tree preservation across the city:

As a result of community concerns about state of San José ’s urban forest and the unpermitted/improper pruning and/or removal of trees, the City is holding a series of workshops to produce the City’s new Tree Preservation Workplan. Workshop participants; realtors, arborists, developers, and residents of San José, will evaluate the City’s current tree preservation activities and develop guidelines for the preservation and growth of our urban forest that also reflect the interests of residents, businesses, and available funding.

Monday, June 25, 2007 … 6pm to 8pm
@ San Jose City Hall, Rm W120

Saturday, June 30, 2007 … 10am to Noon
@ West Valley Public Library

The Official Invitation is also available in fancy multi-colored PDF.

The preliminary report on the Tree Preservation Workplan is available from online the City in PDF.

Due in part to the significant energy expelled when three sycamore trees were illegally destroyed in January, these meetings are getting a lot of attention. The SJ Mercury News previews the meetings in its Sunday editions, providing perspective from multiple stakeholders:

Although residents’ complaints and media attention put the focus on illegal tree removals, officials and tree experts also are concerned about illegal pruning, which can weaken trees and cause them to die.

Jamie Matthews, code enforcement administrator, said most of the recent weekend calls from residents have been to report improper pruning. He and other tree advocates believe that will be the next education campaign.

And right on cue, the Merc offers a primer on neighborly tree trimming Sunday’s Action Line column.

Perhaps to avoid the spectacle a meeting held in WG might bring — or maybe just because our library is under construction — there will be no meetings in your neighborhood.

Councilman Pete Constant said he wanted one of the meetings held in his West San Jose district because of residents’ frustration over hundreds of infected tulip trees that drop sap onto cars and sidewalks, creating a nuisance. The current city policies make it difficult for residents to find solutions, he said.

But he also wants the city to simplify and streamline the permit process, a necessary step for removing or pruning street trees that are at least 56 inches in circumference.

He wouldn’t also be interested in relaxing the tree ordinances, would he?

The City of San Jose’s Planning Department has released a draft preliminary Tree Removal Permit (PDF) for the Sycamore trees illegally removed last month, and input is being sought prior to the permit becoming official.

The document is very thorough in presenting the permit history of the property, including detailing extensive interactions with the prior property owner (The Holt Family acquired the property on December 13, 2006).

The revised Permit would require the property owners to replace each of the two ordinance-size trees with 10 trees (or 20 trees total), four of them at the corner of Willow & Camino Ricardo:

Of the 20 total required replacement trees: two 36-inch box native trees (Coastal Live Oak) will be planted on the site in the vicinity of the trees that were removed; two 36-inch box native trees (California Sycamores) will be planted adjacent to the site within the Willow Street public-right-of-way; and the remaining 16 24-inch box replacement trees will be provided in the form of a monetary contribution ($300 per tree) to the Our City Forest non-profit organization to facilitate tree planting in the surrounding community.

In an email to the WGNA eList (reproduced below), senior planner Erin Morris requests input from the community prior to the February 14 permit mitigation hearing, scheduled for 9:00 am.

While the intensity of concern may have weakened a bit, potential solutions continue to evolve in the story of the Sycamore Trees illegally felled from the corner of Camino Ricardo & Willow Street:

From the San Jose City Council: At the urging of Dave Cortese and now Nora Campos, the City Council will consider emergency changes to the current tree removal ordinances at its regular meeting on February 6 (online PDF agenda), primarily discussing Cortese’s memorandom from January 24:

Our common goal is for stronger tree preservation in San Jose. The City Council can demonstrate its commitment to this goal by providing initial oversight via the Transportation and Environment Committee … While the Committee works with staff and the public to improve current policies and put into place new ones, the City Clerk and City Attorney can research and report back on the idea of a new Urban Forestry Commission, which would serve as steward of the new and improved tree policies … the complete memo is available online in PDF)

From SJPD: San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis drew significant praise from members of the eList with an email he sent out clarifying the department’s plans for responses to future in-progress code violations. That email is added as a comment to this post.

From the WG Resident: In its January 26 edition (dated January 24 online), the paper provides the first significant public comments in defense of the home owners. Developer, friend, and neighbor of the Holt Family, J. Barnes explains: “Felled trees have residents out on a limb”

“They’re distraught,” said Barnes about the Holts, who have not commented on the incident.

Barnes acknowledges the Holts made a mistake. Barnes said the couple was unaware they needed a permit. Further, the city’s letter informing the Holts of the required permit wasn’t retrieved from a post office box in Trés Pinos until days after the trees were cut down, Barnes said. …

Barnes knew Holt was considering removing the trees, but did not know he planned to hire a company on Jan. 13 or remove them without a permit. He became involved in the home’s construction only after the trees were felled.

San Jose code enforcement administrator Jamie Matthews said he is “very satisfied [Barnes] was not involved with the illegal tree removal.”

As the furor over the tree removals heightened, Barnes was compelled to get involved and defend his friend, he said.

Many people still believe the Holts pursued the tree removal knowing it was illegal. If they were unclear on the tree’s permit status, why were they searching for a service to remove the trees specifically on a Saturday, as originally reported in WGx and on the WGNA eList?

The weekly newspaper also suffered from unfortunate timing, as it shifted its publication schedule the week the trees were cut. But a recent editorial encourages better communication and education about trees in the city:

The city’s help in funding workshops and classes that would educate residents in becoming good tree stewards is a start. In addition, San Jose officials need to develop a program that teaches utility company workers proper pruning techniques, because these businesses leave a trail of destruction on city streets.

Willow Glen may have lost three old trees, but turning them into sawdust won’t be wasted if it generates greater awareness and strengthens our regulations and policies so future trees remain rooted in their heritage.

OK, now what?

Almost unprecedented news coverage of the cutting of healthy sycamore trees in Willow Glen may result in some changes to the City’s approach to its urban forest. WGNA eList members continue to debate both the consequences that should be dealt to the current owners, to PMC Tree Service, and to J. Barnes Construction. (more…)

The now infamous corner of Willow Street & Camino Ricardo has seen an increase in traffic recently, since the news about the illegally removed sycamore trees. If you are curious, but don’t want to gawk in person, WGx is hosting pictures submitted by neighbors.

WGx-hosted pictures of the infamous Willow Glen Sycamores (includes before and after pictures).

To sbumit pictures for posting on WGx, please forward them as attachments to WGx@WillowGlenExtra.com. Please review the WGx photo policies, and please include your full name in the email.

Other collections:

Online pictures have also been added to the coverage in Wednesday’s Mercury-News update.

The Webshots.com website has the best picture WGx can find of the trees before their removal.

The current WGNA picture of the week is one taken while the cutting was in progress on Saturday. Other pictures are also available from the WGNA home page.

Four days after three sycamores were removed (two of them illegally) from the corner of Willow Street & Camino Ricardo, debate continues on the WGNA eList, and the SJ Mercury News reports that fines and official compaints are on the way.

Apparently in response to the negative publicity, the J. Barnes Construction Company installed a fence and massive “Thank You” signs around the property this morning.

Back in April 2006, WGx predicted … “It’s early yet, but illegal tree trimming might end up being the story of the year in Willow Glen. The fight continues … WGx”

Trees fared pretty well after the city’s ordinance against illegally removing trees was strengthened with increased fines and additional enforcement.

But 2007 has not started well. Following an incident this weekend, neighborhood complaints and enforcement issues may get more attention:

Despite valiant efforts from residents and a police response, a prominent collection of sycamore trees was removed from the corner of Willow Street & Camino Ricardo on Saturday.

The City of San Jose regulates the trimming and removal of street trees. For trees on private property, trees with a trunk circumference of 56 inches or greater require a permit for removal, whether they are dead or alive. Permits may have been requested in the past for this property, but do not appear to have been approved. The property has two parcel numbers and a confusing legal history, with a host of previously approved building permits.

Trees Removed — Even With Advance Warning

Neighbors had been put on alert two weeks ago: A member of the WGNA eList foreshadowed the removal after an honest contractor had mentioned being asked to bid on removing a tree on a Saturday. (Weekend removals, while themselves not illegal, raise flags because property owners and removal companies know that halting action from the City is less likely.) Sure enough, chainsaws began early Saturday.

Neighbors summoned the police, but officers did not halt the destruction. Despite previous clarifications of the Police Department’s role, officers were unaware that they had the authority to stop the removal. The trees were gone before the end of the day.

Since the trees were removed, the eList has seen a storm of discussion on the matter. Most members have expressed outrage, with some calling for significantly stiffer penalties for such brazen flaunting of the law. Eyewitnesses report that a local company, known as PMC Tree Service, was responsible for the removal of the trees, and the eList quickly filled with compaints against PMC for this and other troubling practices.

There will be more to this story as local media and neighborhood groups get more involved. Of course, WGx will follow everything as it unfolds ….