Congratulations to many of you who sent in comment emails on the discussion of a new tree ordinance for Redding by the Planning Commission, taking up where the Redding Tree Committee left off. We had almost 100 emailed comments that went to the Planning Commission and most were cc’d to the City Council and this was after SEA had only one week of official notice before the meeting to get the word out. It’s probably the largest number of comments since Turtle Bay. Eight people spoke including three SEA board members which is a good turnout for the commission and many tree advocates were in the audience.
There will be other meetings coming up and we will notify the public again to comment on preserving Redding’s oak trees and when they can’t be preserved require enough mitigation to plant other trees in Redding parks and streets to take their place. The turnout and many emails really made a difference in the tenor of the Planning Commission meeting as the commissioners and staff know there is a great deal of dissatisfaction with Redding’s disappearing tree canopy and our spreading asphalt parking lots and streets.
Next month we will try for 200 comments and 15 people attending to comment. While the meetings are long, they did let the public comment at about the one-hour mark, so people can leave early if they wish. It is important to make your voice heard. Thank you to all who commented whether three sentences or three pages, it all helped.
Google photo, looking north on Churn Creek Road at Rancho Road 2017
After the cut at looking south to the intersection of Churn Creek and Rancho Road. An oak woodland clearcut