Save 7 Heritage Trees

May 14th City Council Meeting Outcome

The Menlo Park City Council voted unanimously to deny our appeal to save the 7 heritage redwood trees on city-owned land at 1000 El Camino Real. Here is a summary of the viable alternatives that we have asked the building owners and city staff to evaluate prior to the appeal meeting. Needless to say, they evaluated both alternatives negatively due to the additional cost required to implement a solution to save the trees, which the city staff valued at $157,000.

If you want to stay apprised of future opportunities to advocate for heritage tree preservation in Menlo Park, please join our mail list.

March 27th EQC Meeting Outcome

The EQC appeal vote did not go in our favor: 4 voted to kill the tress and 3 voted to keep them. Many thanks so those who came to the meeting. More supporters attending certainly would have helped our cause, though the nail in the coffin was the lack of a "feasible alternative" to removing the trees – in quotes because we vigorously disputed that several of the alternatives presented were indeed infeasible. Here is an article from a reporter of the San Jose Mercury News who covered the EQC meeting: Despite outcry from environmentalists, City of Menlo Park approves removal of redwoods.

A few key points to understand that became evident during the EQC meeting:

    1. The purported safety issue to building penance is greatly overblown since the building owner admitted that they are currently in no imminent danger.
    2. The practical lifespan of the underground parking lot's waterproof membrane is 30 years, which means that the water erosion issue will recur with or without the trees.
    3. The city's $157,500 valuation of the trees disincentives putting any effort into exploring and pursuing innovative solutions that would alter the structure vs. removing the trees.

The next step is to appeal to the city council. Judy Rocchio has volunteered to lead that effort. This time, the city council may not waive the appeal fee of $700 ($100 per tree). We'll keep you posted regarding how you can help next.

More fun facts:

    • The original premise of the tree removal is FALSE:
      • False premise point #1: The trees are causing damage to the structure (this staff report confirms that this is not the case)
      • False premise point #2: No feasible alternatives to removal exist (alternatives do exist that increase the cost of repairs)
    • The building structure damage at 1000 El Camino Real was not caused by the trees.
    • The land at 1000 El Camino Real is owned by the city and leased to the building owner.
    • The building structure repair solution proposed by the building owner will damage the trees and require their removal.
    • There are alternative building structure repaire solutions that will not damage the trees, but these solutions are costly.
    • The city of Menlo Park estimates the monetary value of the trees at $157,500 – not enough to justfy the more costly solutions.

How to get involved:

4 of the 7 heritage coastal redwood trees that are scheduled for removal at 1000 El Camino Real (see more photos here)

You can see the exact location of these trees along El Camino Real on page 4 of the presentation below

Jan 8, 2019 Community Meeting.pdf

Menlo Park city staff presented the above slides at the community meeting on January 8, 2019

During the community meeting, the Menlo Park city arborist stated several times that the redwood trees have NOT caused the structural damage in the parking garage, e.g. the waterproof membrane. The Menlo Almanac article dated January 9, 2019 incorrectly reports that the trees caused the damage. We have contacted the reporter and requested a formal correction. Per the most recent staff report, "The existing waterproofing is compromised due to outdated and/or ineffective waterproofing from the 1980s when the building was originally constructed."