Photograph by Carolyn Hammond
An approximately 250-year-old oak tree located in the White Oaks condominium complex in Sunnyvale recently had to be chopped down. The oak, which was severely diseased, was older than the city itself.
Centuries-old oak cut down
Parks and Rec said tree was 'hazardous'
By Jana Seshadri
A thing of beauty is no longer a joy to Sunnyvale residents. An approximately 250-year-old oak tree inside White Oaks--a 16-unit condominium complex--at the intersection of E. McKinley and Fair Oaks avenues in Sunnyvale had to be felled on Jan. 31 due to disease--though not sudden oak death disease, which has been plaguing coastal oaks.
"We haven't had much Sudden Oak Death in Santa Clara County," said Leonard Dunn, Sunnyvale manager of trees and landscape.
"This tree has been around for about 250 years and it's sad to see it coming down," said Mary Walz, resident of the White Oaks complex. She said all the residents of the complex and the neighbors of the community gathered to take pictures and say goodbye to the tree.
"We toasted the tree the night before," she added.
According to Walz, the Light Oak tree has been decaying and dying for a long time.
"It was even hit by lightning once," she said.
According to Dunn, when a community undergoes growth and development, the trees and shrubs surrounding the areas can easily be affected. The development and construction of buildings cause a lot of mess and this might have or definitely would have shortened the tree's lifespan, he added.
"This tree has been here longer than the city of Sunnyvale has," he said.
Usually when a tree on private property is dying and needs to be removed, the Sunnyvale Planning Department needs to be contacted first, City Planner Tanya Higgins said. The resident's application will then be looked over and sent to the city arborist for a final word on the tree's removal to avoid the likelihood of any type of a dispute at a later date, she said. The city's decision will then be intimated to the resident.
In this case, according to the arborist's report, the tree was badly damaged and diseased.
"It was a very hazardous tree--and probably in the range of 200 years old," said Steve Sukke, senior public works leader for the city of Sunnyvale. "It had significant decay in the trunk and branches and it was also termite infested from several years ago."
According to Sukke, in the past no steps were taken to protect the greenery when a development was planned. The White Oaks complex was probably developed in the 1970s, he said. Now, pre-protection measures are required before any development begins in the city of Sunnyvale, he said.
The management of the condo complex hired an outside arborist to cut down the tree.
"The tree stood right on the driveway," Walz said. "Now there's just a stump."
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
