by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
After months of being under close observation, two large live oak trees in Hemming Plaza will be removed, the City confirmed this week. Those trees, which have been shedding limbs at a more rapid pace than what is considered to be normal, will be uprooted and hauled away Saturday, Sept. 10.
“The trees are pretty sizable and people will definitely notice that something will be missing after they’re gone,” said Marcy Cook, a spokesperson from the City’s Public Works Department. “But unfortunately there really isn’t any other option out there.”
Cook said an independent contractor hired by the City would handle the one-day job at cost of $370. That figure was calculated based on the combined diameter of the approximately 35 year-old trees.
“It’s a fairly simple process, despite our not liking to remove trees,” said Don Robertson, an urban forester for the City. “But the location is considered to be a more stressful environment than what you would find in a traditional suburban setting.
“One tree is completely dead and the other is about 95 percent there.”
According to Robertson, the trees are dying from a combination of a couple of things: a poor growing environment due to the man-made structures all around the trees and exposure to air that is less conducive to growing than if the trees were in a more natural setting. If the two trees aren’t removed soon, they will not only pose a health hazard to patrons of the park but the other trees in the park may start to suffer the same fate.
Robertson said the City had expressed interest in replacing at least one of the oaks saying, “We’d like to have as much shade as possible in (the park.)
“It’s tricky because there is a good amount of underground electric and irrigation facilities there,” he said. “We’ll have to take a closer look before we can make a determination of what we can do.”
Robertson added that other trees may also have to removed in the future.
“There are a few more that aren’t doing as well as we’d like and we’ve got our eyes on them,” he said. “It’s hard to say right now.”