CITY TO WEIGH TREE PRESERVATION; COUNCIL SEEKS FURTHER STUDY OF AILING EUCALYPTUSES.Byline: Douglas Clark
Douglas Clark (born 1942) is an English poet. Clark was born in Darlington, County Durham, England, to Scottish parents in 1942. Daily News Staff Writer The City Council's sense of history may save some of the 38 ailing eucalyptus trees that line Lemon Drive and Sequoia Avenue. Ron Coons, public works public works pl.n. Construction projects, such as highways or dams, financed by public funds and constructed by a government for the benefit or use of the general public. Noun 1. director, approached the council Monday with a plan to replace the trees, many of which suffer from root decay and termite termite or white ant, common name for a soft-bodied social insect of the order Isoptera. Termites are easily distinguished from ants by comparison of the base of the abdomen, which is broadly joined to the thorax in termites; in ants, there is infestation infestation /in·fes·ta·tion/ (-fes-ta´shun) parasitic attack or subsistence on the skin and/or its appendages, as by insects, mites, or ticks; sometimes used to denote parasitic invasion of the organs and tissues, as by helminths. . But council members said they want more information, and told city staffers to return in three weeks with a specific bill of health for each tree. ``These trees have historical significance to Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. . They were all planted as wind rows for the old citrus groves,'' said Mayor Greg Stratton. ``We'd like to take down only those trees that need to be taken down.'' Patricia Havens, of the Simi Valley Historical Society, said the eucalyptus trees on Lemon Drive likely were planted in the 1920s, during the heyday of the Tapo District orchards. ``They were just glorious as late as the 1960s,'' she said. But as the trees began to decay, Havens said she resigned herself to the fact that all things must pass. ``I wouldn't stand in front of a bulldozer on this one,'' she said. ``Public safety has to come first.'' According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Coons' report, two eucalyptus trees on Lemon Drive and one on Sequoia Avenue were toppled in December by unusually strong winds. An examination of the trees ``revealed shallow root systems and root decay.'' Kurt Dahlgren, an arborist and public works maintenance superintendent, said the trees are visibly in a weakened state. The leaves are thinning and yellow, a lot of deadwood Deadwood, city (1990 pop. 1,830), seat of Lawrence co., W S.Dak.; settled 1876 after discovery of gold. A Black Hills tourist center, it is also a trade hub for a lumbering, stock-raising, and mining region. has been removed from the trees in recent years, and there are signs of fungal diseases fungal diseases or mycoses Diseases caused by any fungus that invades the tissues. Superficial fungal infections (e.g., athlete's foot) are confined to the skin. and insect problems. Dahlgren also said some tree trunks are rotting because they've been buried below the landscape grade; others sit on plateaus and are unstable. ``We're at this point where the liability is a big concern,'' he said. John Watring, assistant public works director, said consultants will be hired to determine the health of the trees. In a letter included in Coons' report, Donald F. Rodrigues, a horticulture consultant with Hydro West Landscape of Agoura Hills, said the trees should be ``removed and replaced with a more suitable urban selection.'' The cost of replacing all 38 trees is $27,700. The Department of Public Works has suggested eight varieties - including chitalpa, raywood ash, sycamore mexicana, and honey locust - to replace the 12 sickly trees along Lemon Drive. |
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