Photo: The stumps of three large redwood trees in front of Umpqua Bank that have been recently cut down
SEA has been working on a new tree ordinance since when we incorporated as an organization in 2017. On Dec 5, 2022, the first meeting of the Redding Tree Committee was established and SEA Board members Aleta Carpenter and David Ledger were on the committee. We met until April 17, 2023, when a motion was made requiring mitigation only for “candidate trees.” Candidate Trees are a subjective judgment and usually make up zero to two percent of the trees in development, meaning no mitigation will be required for cutting down native oak trees. SEA President David Ledger made a counter motion at that meeting to require mitigation for all native trees over 6 inches in diameter. It was defeated 4 to 5 and the motion for mitigation of just the candidate trees passed 9 to 3, a complete failure of the Tree Committee to require mitigation for the removal of trees, reflecting in part, that some people didn’t know what they were voting for and most who did. It was a victory for developers and business as usual.
Now the Planning Department may bring a new ordinance to the Planning Commission on February 25, postponed many times, for them to debate and vote on – over two years since the City Council formed a Tree Committee. Next summer drive through the Mt. Shasta Mall parking lot and note how many trees are missing from planters or dead – at least 30. Then notice how many trees don’t look like they will make it through the summer – perhaps more than 30. Then look at how many shadeless crepe myrtles trees are in the parking lot.
Drive by Umpqua Bank on Pine Street where you’ll see three 30″ redwood trees have just been cut down. SEA is trying to confirm this but we think they were cut because the roots got into the sewers. Why can other cities in California grow a forest of street trees but Redding only seems capable of cutting down a forest of oak trees for Costco and growing a huge heat-absorbing black asphalt parking lot in its place? While cities up and down the state of California have strict tree ordinances, including Shasta Lake and Chico, Redding city leaders do not care about trees, nor do most of the people in Redding except when looking for a shaded parking space. Trees can cool a city as much as 12 degrees from the summer heat. Yet after one of Redding’s hottest summers on record. Redding is making progress on increasing its tree canopy and we are losing the battle.
If you care about the increasing heat in Redding, we ask and encourage all of you to send a letter to the Redding City Council asking that they urgently enact a new tree ordinance that will preserve more of our oak trees and build up Redding’s tree canopy.
Redding City Council emails: mlittau@cityofredding.org; jmunns@cityofredding.org; eresner@cityofredding.org; taudette@cityofredding.org; pdhanuka@cityofredding.org