It’s the little things that give a town character – a meandering stream, a quaint old church, even a greasy dive bar. To many Alamo residents, the area’s tree-lined streets are what make it uniquely theirs.
“It’s what sets Alamo apart from the rest of the county,” said Vicki Koc, who has been active in many community groups, including the Alamo Road Improvement Committee.
So when three oak trees and seven mature magnolias – which had begun pushing up the sidewalk – were uprooted in February in front of Las Trampas Center where YardBirds is, people noticed. In recent weeks, Alamo residents have done more than just notice.
Concerned neighbors and former members of the Boulevard of Trees Project clashed with the county’s Public Works Department and property manager Scott Kertz, citing that two of the removed oaks had been dedicated by an Alamo man as part of the Boulevard of Trees Project.
“There are communities where people don’t care about trees, but Alamo is not one of those communities,” said Dianne Tinnes, former chairwoman of the project.
In recent letters she wrote to Kertz and Supervisor Mary N. Piepho, she requested that both parties be more conscious of community input before making and acting on decisions to remove landscaping. She also asked that the county replant the trees in the places where they were removed.
“You can imagine how it must feel to have paid for and planted trees in honor of family members,” she wrote, “then, once established, to have them cut down at the caprice of a property owner and the nonchalance of county staff.”
Members of the Boulevard of Trees Project, which was headed by the late Andrew H. Young, strove to beautify Alamo by planting a stretch of 300 trees along Danville Boulevard, Livorna Road and Hillgrade Avenue.
Kretz removed the trees from the Las Trampas Center after the county cited him for having broken surface material. In previous years he had made efforts to prevent the damage by adding root barriers. He also provided Public Works with a horticulturist report, which illustrated the shallow-rooted magnolias would only get worse. The total cost to remove the trees was $40,000.
“It had to be done,” he said.
Assistant Public Works Director JoeYee, who approved Kertz’s request to remove the trees, said the roots were pushing up the sidewalk and presenting a “tripping hazard” to passersby. The trees were seen as a potential liability to the county, he said.
In an approval letter from Yee to Kretz, Yee wrote that his decision to take out the trees was “based on the damage caused by the trees” and “the fact that the majority of the trees are shallow-root species.”
But Koc says the oaks, which were the dedicated trees, were not causing the problem. Oaks do not have shallow root systems and generally don’t cause problems with sidewalks.
“They could have taken out the magnolias and left the oaks,” Koc said.
Steve Mick, an alternate member of the steering committee for Zone 36, which advises the county on lighting and landscaping, said he was shopping at the center when he saw the trees were being removed. He reported it to Public Works and “from there it bumped its way along the bureaucratic chain” until it got to the Sheriff’s Department.
Yee said he was unaware that the trees under review were part of the Boulevard of Trees Project.
Plans are being made to replace the trees although no location has yet been determined, Yee said. The responsibility of watering and caring for the young trees also has yet to be decided.
The trees that were removed had been carefully watered for three years, until they were strong enough to survive on their own. The project members had contracted a company to water the trees, which was the most expensive part of the process, said Tinnes.
“There aren’t any plans to replant anything on those sidewalks for obvious reasons,” Kertz said. He also noted that the center’s parking lot has another 30 trees.
The fact that the county gave the approval to remove the trees shows it is out of touch with Alamo, Tinnes said. She said it demonstrates that the county doesn’t know what Alamo residents value.
“I think (Kertz) got the feeling no one was watching,” Tinnes said.
Alamo Improvement Association President Preston Taylor said the problem is that the county issued the permit without a review.
“County planning didn’t realize how much the community was involved,” he said.
As rural areas like Alamo continue to develop, nature preservation is becoming more of an issue. Tree protection laws in Contra Costa County state that if a tree is over 4.5 feet tall, has a diameter larger than 36 inches, or is a protected species, one must have a permit to remove it.
Trees cause problems with sidewalks all over the world but the answer is not to rip out mature trees, nature preservationists say.
Alternative mitigation measures like installing metal grates, pruning the roots or putting in rubber sidewalks could have been options for Danville and Alamo, said Tinnes. Some areas of San Jose currently use rubber sidewalks, she added, and cement sidewalks can also be laid out around trees instead of over their roots.
“It’s more of an attitude than anything else,” Tinnes said.
The Boulevard of Trees Project planted a 3.5-mile stretch of nine species of trees, which included oaks, hollies, evergreens and deciduous trees. The group was active from 1987-2005 with the mission of enhancing and preserving the rural character of Alamo. Fifteen groups and organizations in the area supported the project.
San Ramon Valley historian Virgie V. Jones, a longtime Alamo resident, said the group was formed after 40 diseased elms were taken out of the area.
“We’ve always been known for our trees and greenery,” she said.
The majority of money for the project came from donations made by Alamo residents. Locals could dedicate a tree to a family member if they gave $250 or more to the project. Bank of America in Alamo now displays a plaque commemorating the donations.
Volunteer landscape architect Carol Edic planned the planting in order to ensure that the new trees would harmonize with those already in place and not interfere with power lines. The placement and species were chosen by project members specifically to avoid rooting and maintenance problems. The Boulevard of Trees Project did not plant the trees that caused the problem, Koc noted.
When Tinnes contacted Piepho in January, Piepho requested something in writing to prove the two uprooted oaks had been paid for and dedicated as part of the project. Tinnes said she provided the documentation, but has not yet received a response from Piepho.
As Alamo and Danville expand and develop, landscape and wildlife will continue to be affected. Alamo citizens have voiced that nature – specifically trees – have been and will continue to be a priority in their community.
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