COUNCIL DELAYS OAK TREE ACTION.Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - The City Council delayed action Noun 1. delayed action - a mechanism that automatically delays the release of a camera shutter for a fixed period of time so that the photographer can appear in the picture on proposed updates to Santa Clarita's development code after an amendment that could relax oak tree protections drew the ire of environmentalists and residents. Just before speakers took the podium last week to protest an amendment allowing homeowners to cut down up to five oaks Five Oaks is a hamlet in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. The hamlet lies about 3km north of Billingshurst on the roman road of Stane Street (now the A29) at the junction with the Western end of the A264. over five years without permits, the Santa Clarita City Council moved to split the oak tree item from the larger code update, then postponed action on both issues until 2005. ``The concern is some of the oak tree ordinance as written right now does not reflect what is intended by the council,'' Councilman Cameron Smyth Cameron Smyth is a Republican who has represented Califoria's 38th Assembly district since December of 2006. He succeeded Keith Richman who was term limited. Prior to being elected to the state legislature, Assemblyman Smyth served on the Santa Clarita City Council, where he said at last week's meeting. The development code update will be reviewed Jan. 11 by the council, and the oak tree ordinance on Feb. 8 At present, the ordinance requires permits for the removal or trimming of any oak tree more than six inches in circumference, measured at 4 1/2 feet from the ground. Exemptions are made for emergencies or as needed as needed prn. See prn order. by utilities and public rights-of-way. The proposed ordinance update allows owners of single-family homes to prune, and remove up to five non-heritage oaks within a five-year period with city review. Heritage oaks are those with a girth GIRTH., A girth or yard is a measure of length. The word is of Saxon origin, taken from the circumference of the human body. Girth is contracted from girdeth, and signifies as much as girdle. See Ell. of at least 108 inches. Oak tree protectionists praised the city for easing trimming restrictions, but were concerned the five-trees rule could lead to widespread clearing. ``The city has no idea (of) the cumulative effect of such a change,'' said Pat Saletore, a member of the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment. ``With the change, entire neighborhoods could be denuded.'' Henry Schultz, vice chairman of the local Sierra Club Sierra Club, national organization in the United States dedicated to the preservation and expansion of the world's parks, wildlife, and wilderness areas. Founded (1892) in California by a group led by the Scottish-American conservationist John Muir, the Sierra Club chapter, accused city or planning officials of tampering with the oak tree proposals behind closed doors. The ordinance amendments were developed with public input earlier this year. ``Someone slipped a little change in there,'' he said. City Manager Ken Pulskamp said that wasn't the case. ``There are some allegations this was done behind closed doors,'' Pulskamp said. ``This is not how the city of Santa Clarita conducts itself.'' One of the 18-year-old city's first ordinances, the oak tree protection law was intended to ``protect and preserve oak trees in the city'' that were threatened by development. The trees - a feature of the city's seal - are a sensitive issue for many locals. Two years ago, dozens rallied behind activist John Quigley John B. Quigley is a professor of law at the Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University, where he is the Presidents' Club Professor of Law. In 1995 he was recipient of The Ohio State University Distinguished Scholar Award. , who protested the removal of an old oak for a road project in unincorporated Stevenson Ranch by sitting on its branches for 70 days. The tree - dubbed Old Glory - was moved a quarter-mile down the road earlier this year. Eugene Tong, (661) 257-5253 eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com |
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