Heritage Orchard tree removal part of plan to expand library

By Kara Chalmers

Residents shouldn't panic if they see trees being uprooted and carted away from the Heritage Orchard on or around Feb. 15.

The removal is due partly to the renovation and expansion of the Saratoga Community Library, which is set to begin this August. Forty-eight trees need to be moved now, while they are still dormant and before the new leaves start blooming, according to Saratoga City Manager Dave Anderson, who added that the action will ultimately result in a net gain of orchard trees.

"Some trees will be displaced because of the parking lot going in, but there will be more trees planted than going out," Anderson said.

The library will be improved at its current location, right in the middle of the orchard, at the corner of Saratoga and Fruitvale avenues, because Saratoga voters passed a $15 million bond measure in March 2000.

The new library will be 31,000 square feet larger than the current building. The design incorporates the current building, which the bond requires, but builds onto it on three sides, toward the corner of Saratoga and Fruitvale avenues, as well as into the orchard.

There is parking for 95 cars at the site today, but the plans call for an increase to 165 total spots.

The addition to the building and the planned parking will both account for the removal of trees. But any trees taken out will be replaced elsewhere in the orchard, so there will actually be a net gain of six orchard trees by the end of the project, Anderson said. The city council, as well as the city's heritage preservation commission, have approved the orchard restoration project.

"I think this is an exciting moment for Saratoga," said Heritage Preservation Chairman Norman Koepernik when commenting on the project at the council meeting Feb. 7.

While 110 orchard trees will be taken out, 48 of those will be replanted in the orchard, mostly near the intersection of Fruitvale and Saratoga avenues, which will make the orchard look denser from the street, according to Anderson. New trees will be planted later during construction of the library for a total of 116 new trees, including the transplanted ones.

The end result of the orchard restoration project will be a neater and more linear array of trees, which will make the orchard more dense in some spots than it is today--such as at the intersection.

There are also some 20 ornamental trees at the corner and along Saratoga Avenue that are either inconsistent with the orchard or beyond their productive lives, according to Anderson, and these will be removed to provide room to transplant the orchard trees.

During the tree removal that will take place the week of Feb. 15, there would be large machinery used to scoop out the trees and their roots and transplant the trees to their new locations, Anderson said. The work will be visible from Saratoga or Fruitvale avenues.

The city will post signs explaining the project--including a number to call and the city's website address--near the site.

The city's orchardist, Matt Novakovich, and his transplanting subcontractors, will do the actual excavation and transplanting of the fruit trees, while Linda Gates, from the library project's landscape architecture firm, will manage the restoration project.

At its meeting Feb. 7, the city council authorized paying Gates $9,050 to design and manage the project and Novakovich $33,587 to do the work. The money will first come from city funds and will be reimbursed from the library bond money, after final approval of the library project by the council, Anderson said.

The orchard restoration project has a phase two, Anderson said, that will implement a master plan for the orchard that the city will develop. He said phase two is basically a commitment to planning the rest of the orchard.

According to Anderson, the city meant to develop a master plan for renovating the orchard for years, and the library expansion project will only really address a small corner of the orchard. The city council on Feb. 7, approved retaining Gates to work with the heritage preservation commission and Novakovich to develop such a plan that would include an inventory of the health and size of all the trees and an evaluation of alternatives for irrigating the orchard.

Phase two, the orchard's master plan, will cost the city $19,120 from its general fund. The cost will include project management, irrigation design and orchardist time, according to Anderson. He added that an orchard master plan would be critical in guiding any replanting of orchard trees.

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