JOSHUA PROTECTION PROPOSAL WOULD AFFECT TREES IN A.V.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

LITTLEROCK - Joshua trees covering thousands of acres in outlying parts of the Antelope Valley would get Los Angeles County protection under a proposed expansion of the county's existing oak tree ordinance.

Property owners in unincorporated parts of the valley would need to apply for a permit and go through a public hearing to cut down native Joshua trees under a proposal now being studied by the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission.

``We need a lot more information on it,'' said George Pederson, a former Santa Clarita councilman who is the north county representative on the commission. ``I want to make it in such a way it doesn't add so much red tape and bureaucracy to the individual homeowner so the individual homeowner can't take care of his property.''

If passed by the commission and the Board of Supervisors as presently written, the ordinance would give a property owner who wants to cut down Joshua trees three options: replant other trees on the same property, replant other trees elsewhere or pay a fee that would go into a county fund for buying or restoring Joshua woodlands.

County officials don't know how much land would be affected, but Joshua trees cover thousands of acres outside the city limits of Lancaster and Palmdale.

``We're trying to find that out,'' said Annie Lin, a regional planning assistant. ``It could be quite substantial.''

After taking public testimony Monday at a hearing in Los Angeles, commissioners are still discussing a number of aspects of the law, including how to define a ``woodlands'' and whether to exempt properties of five acres or less. An exemption for lots that size would exempt most of the home lots in Littlerock, Pearblossom and other outlying parts of the valley.

As written, the ordinance says a ``woodlands'' can be as few as two trees, or as determined by a county biologist.

County officials are also still studying what fees should be applied to the application process.

The next hearing is scheduled for May 15 in Los Angeles. Lin said she expects more changes will be made to the proposal after that hearing.

The Joshua tree protection measures are an outgrowth of a proposal to expand the oak tree protection to include western sycamores, which grow in the Santa Monica Mountains, officials said.

After a hearing last July, commissioners recommended the ordinance be revised to focus on all native woodlands, not just individual trees, and not just on oaks or sycamores.

The new ordinance would also protect California walnut trees in the Pomona Valley and Joshuas in the Antelope Valley.

It also would protect woodlands of more than 20 other native trees, including bushlike California junipers that grow on Antelope Valley hillsides and cottonwoods along creeks and washes, plus pine forests at higher elevations.

The protection doesn't apply to ornamental native plants - such as Joshua trees or cottonwood trees planted as landscaping, unless they were required to be planted by law or as a mitigation measure.

``The commission doesn't want to penalize people who plant trees,'' Lin said.

No one from the Antelope Valley spoke at Monday's hearing. Speakers included people in favor of expanding protection for California trees and builders and others worried about the restrictions the ordinance could put on property owners.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color -- 1 -- color AV edition only -- 2 -- ran in AV edition only) Under proposed expansion of the existing oak tree ordinance, Antelope Valley Joshua trees, such as these pictured, could be protected by Los Angeles County.

(3) All native woodlands, including Joshua trees would be protected if the proposed ordinance expansion is passed.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer