Saratoga News

Eucalyptus trees' fate to be determined by school board

Preliminary project plans call for the trees' removal

Neighbors want to save trees

By Michelle Alaimo

Residents are rallying in an effort to save a number of massive eucalyptus trees on the campus of Saratoga School on Oak Street. Petitions are being passed around town, banners proclaiming "Save our Trees!" have been hung on the two trees in the school's playground and former Saratoga school teacher Les Landin has even written a song about the trees.

Preliminary renovation plans prepared by HMC Architects had called for the removal for safety reasons of two large eucalyptus trees near the playground and a line of eucalyptus trees along the south side of the school near the parking lot.

But no decision has been made by the Saratoga Union School District board regarding the fate of the trees.

However, Louise Levy, assistant superintendent of the SUSD, said the district is in the process of collecting information from a variety of sources before making a decision.

"The district's whole purpose is to provide a safe environment for the students," Levy said.

A board meeting has been tentatively set for Aug. 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the Redwood Middle School library, with the trees' fate scheduled for action and discussion. The meeting date could change if not enough board members are back from vacation to provide a quorum.Levy said that at the June 9 board meeting, Environmental Edges--HMC Architects' consulting firm--gave a presentation to the board on the safety of the trees. Levy said the firm stated that the trees are flammable and brittle and could be a safety issue on the playground. While the firm recommended that the trees be removed, Levy said they also suggested a number of ways the trees could stay, including additional care, more tree protection and increasing maintenance and upkeep.

Lee Salin, an architect at HMC, said the trees don't encroach on any of the renovation plans and that he would work with whatever the board decides. In the event the board decides to keep the trees, Salin said the renovation plans could be reworked to include the trees. In the current design, the trees would be removed to allow restriping and reshaping of the playground area. New trees would be planted around the area to help ensure shade, Salin said.

Although the district is focusing on safety, arborist Barrie Coate sent an informal letter to Salin dated June 26, which stated, "I see no apparent reason why most of these trees cannot be made reasonably safe if they are properly pruned." The letter--given to the Saratoga News by former Saratoga school teacher Betty Peck--is not a formal report but has been distributed around town by tree enthusiasts and neighbors.

Jennifer Young Taylor, 1958 graduate of the school, has also started an informal petition that reads, "Save the great trees of Old Saratoga School! Don't chop down our children's shade and heritage!" She has several pages of signatures from residents in support of keeping the trees.

Taylor insists there are ways of teaching children at the Oak Street school how to be safe around the trees.

"If need be, we could teach the children not to go under the trees so close," Taylor said.

Coate's informal letter also listed other ways to maintain the trees, such as proper pruning methods, and said the trees also provide shading and cooling to the playground and temporary buildings.

But Coate would not comment on his letter, and Levy said Coate is not giving a formal report at the Aug. 4 meeting.

Some details of the school's renovation also hinge on whether the trees stay or go. Ellen Tipton, SUSD business manager, said the school would not be able to build a regulation practice soccer field if the trees stay but would instead have to build a smaller field. She added that the field behind the trees is being built up to make the regulation soccer field, and the sloping hill in back of the trees by the playground would have to be terraced for the smaller soccer field.

However a row of smaller eucalyptus trees along the south side of the school will most likely be removed, Salin and Levy said. The line of trees is paved right up to their trunks, Levy said, and are sandwiched in between two buildings. The fate of those trees will also be determined at the Aug. 4 meeting.

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