A LEAFY PROBLEM RESIDENTS FIGHT TO SAVE TREES.

Byline: SUE DOYLE Staff Writer

AGUA DULCE -- Without Julia Butterfly Hill, Daryl Hannah or other save-the-tree icons nearby, some residents are branching out on their own to fight a county plan to cut down a small patch of trees.

Growing on a stretch of Sierra Highway, the thick leafy trees bend this way and that between two side streets to Sleepy Valley, an unincorporated hamlet of older homes.

But those trees might have to go under a proposed project with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works that could be reviewed by the county Board of Supervisors as early as June 27.

In its preliminary phase now, the plan aims to excavate 27 to 32 trees, including three oaks, between Center and Spring streets, on the north end of Sierra Highway, said Ken Pellman, public works spokesman.

Pellman said the slope where the trees now stand would be graded and a wall constructed in their place to improve visibility for drivers making their way around the winding road.

But to some residents, the shady trees at the bend in the road are a welcome sight.

They argue that the trees have stood tall over this rural part of town long before residents moved in, and they are looking for alternatives to keep them there.

``I've lived in the area 42 years, and the trees have been here that long,'' said Deborah Weiss.

To save the trees, Weiss recommended changing Spring Street into a one-way route, so residents can turn onto it from Sierra Highway but not exit from there.

Or, she said, the county could put up signs prohibiting turns morning and evenings when Sierra Highway becomes a commuter link between the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys.

A letter now circulating through the unincorporated community from one family alerted other homeowners to the county's proposed changes and contains more alternatives to cutting down the trees, such as preventing all turns to Sierra Highway from Spring Street.

It urges residents to contact the public works department by Friday, when public review of the plan ends.

But others don't buy it. They say the trees are a nuisance and should come down, because they block the view of traffic hustling down the main thoroughfare, making turns in and out of the subdivision difficult.

``Go ahead and knock them out,'' said Tony Belfiore as he hacked at overgrown weeds in his yard on Chrisco Street.

The 47-year-old Belfiore only uses Center Street to access the neighborhood, because traffic behind him on Sierra Highway can swing around him at the intersection and keep on driving.

Making a left onto Spring Street, he learned, frustrates many on Sierra Highway because there isn't any room for them to drive around the turning car that's often waiting a few minutes for traffic to clear.

But it's the traffic on Sierra Highway that one local resident of 42 years says is the heart of this whole issue.

Richard Unger, who lives nearby, recommended installing speed bumps on Sierra Highway to slow drivers who he sees blowing way past its 55 mph speed limit. He thinks it's the speeders who are pushing the county's project and said the problem is that they don't want to slow down to accommodate residents turning into Sleepy Valley.

``Sierra Highway is a safe street except for the people who drive on it,'' Unger said. ``People are just too fast now.''

sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) The county is considering removing trees along Sierra Highway through Sleepy Valley to help eliminate blind spots and increase traffic flow through the area, below. Longtime resident Richard Unger, above, and other residents believe there may be other remedies besides removing trees in the area.

David Crane/Staff Photographer