Why do we need to protect ONTEORA HILL'S oaks trees?
-- THE CITY/STATE'S PROTECTION OF LIVE OAK TREES --
The Los Angeles Municipal Code (Section 12.21 A 12; Ordinance 177404) protects California’s Live Oaks from removal and destruction by developers and homeowners. The state of California bans the removal of native oak trees. Oak trees existed in the state during ancient times, according to the city of Los Angeles, and were used by Native Americans and Spaniards living in the area. Property owners have the right to remove trees that pose a health or safety risk, but they must petition the city before removing the tree.
Under the Los Angeles County Ordinance:
“A person shall not cut, destroy, remove, relocate, inflict damage, or encroach into the protected zone of any tree of the oak tree genus, which is 8” or more in diameter four and one-half feet above mean natural grade or in the case of oaks with multiple trunks a combined diameter of twelve inches or more of the two largest trunks, without first obtaining a permit.
Damage includes but is not limited to:
- Burning
- Trenching
- Excavating
- Paving
- Application of Toxic Substances
- Pruning or Cutting
- Operation of Machinery or Equipment
- Changing the Natural Grade
Section 22.56.2050: Oak Tree Permit Regulations, Los Angeles County – Date of Adoption: September 13, 1988
The 4.3-acre property on Onteora Hill which is targeted for a subdivision development is on a ridge that contains a Live Oak woodland of 75 trees. One of the parcels (5683028026) of the targeted property is significantly sloped and has a differing elevation of approximately 80 feet. The trees are situated on a north to northwesterly facing slope and most have been on the property for some 80+ years. The canopy primarily consists of the Live Oaks providing 75-80% coverage on the south and 30% on the north.
-- THE MAIN STRESSES AND RISKS OF CONSTRUCTION ON PROTECTED LIVE OAKS --
SOIL COMPACTION
LACK OF PEST CONTROL
CHANGE OF GRADE IN ROOT ZONE
PHYSICAL DAMAGE TO TREES & ROOTS
DUMPING OF TOXIC CONSTRUCTION WASTE
DUST
LACK OF WATER/CHANGES IN HYDROLOGY
HUMAN ERROR
-- CLIMATE CHANGE AND GLOBAL WARMING --
Climate Change and Global Warming demand increased greenspace and tree canopies to:
- Mitigate increasing temperatures
- Eagle Rock’s Live Oak trees sequester carbon in their mass as they grow. Large, long-lived trees such as the protected Live Oaks on Onteora Way in Eagle Rock convert large quantities of carbon dioxide to various organic compounds that make up wood. This helps protect us from the two freeway emissions that surround us. These woodlands therefore provide a means for helping to offset the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels related to the use of fossil fuels.
- The Topanga/Duarte shale-like soils on this hillside can also sequester carbon, and soils with high organic content such as those found under oak canopies can hold larger amounts of carbon, thereby reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses that contribute to global warming.
- Oak canopies also mitigate the effects of global warming by reducing ground surface temperatures. In urban areas, oak trees provide protective shading for houses and people, lowering energy needs for cooling homes.
- Retain rainwater in watersheds and lessen runoff
- Trap carbon emissions, especially from the nearby 134 and 2 freeways.
- Maintain biodiversity
- Control erosion
- Mitigate increasing temperatures
-- OAK TREES ARE CRUCIAL TO ONTEORA HILL'S ECOSYSTEM --
- Live Oak Trees are a KEYSTONE SPECIES – a species on which many other organisms in an ecosystem depend, such that if it were lost the ecosystem would change drastically.
- Live Oaks support people (acorns), animals, insects, invertebrates, other plants and over 370 fungi. Scrub jays, flickers and acorn woodpeckers in our area all depend on oaks for food. Insects feed on the leaves, twigs, acorns, bark and wood of oak trees (which in turn are food sources for other larger critters.) Some animals depend on oaks to keep them safe from predators, while others use the branches, cavities, and bark itself as a home.
- Live Oaks continue to be useful to wildlife even after they die. Salamanders, worms, snails, termites and ants live in decomposing logs and help turn wood into humus, which enriches soil.
California Oak Trees are a state-protected tree. Cutting down 40, 29 or 1 is just criminal. Don’t allow a fragile landscape to be exploited. The Onteora Hillside Alliance needs neighbors to speak up against it proceeding any further. A Full Environmental Impact Report is not only requested but mandatory. The building project (ENV 2020-3136 EAF) will greatly affect our environment. In this case in a negative way.
C. Newland, Eagle Rock Resident
The Live Oaks on the Onteora Way site may be a headache and a nuisance for Leap of Faith Partners, but they are also what holds our very hillside together. They’re resistant to fire, and are capable of surviving extreme drought — which is beyond crucial in a city increasingly ravaged by climate change. They sustain myriad varieties of butterflies which lay their eggs upon them — including the Monarch butterfly, which is an endangered species. Leap of Faith talks about “re-installing” the oaks to make way for its pre-fab houses. But our city’s protected oaks are not fenceposts or flagpoles. They are the living lungs of our communities, and they will die if they’re torn from the soil that sprang them and plopped in some hastily dug hole for the developer’s convenience.Ed Liebowitz, Writer, Eagle Rock Resident
--PRESERVING LAND AND TREES FOLLOWS LOS ANGELES LEADERSHIP GUIDELINES --
- Preserving and enhancing The Onteora hillside would support Mayor Garcetti’s New Green Deal objective of planting and maintaining 90,000 trees to provide 61 million square feet of shade city wide by 2021. This counters the developer’s plan to CUT DOWN at least 29+ Live Oak trees and plant 18” samplings in their place. Oak trees take years to grow and are difficult to transplant.
- Los Angeles County’s interactive tree canopy viewer identifies (light shades of green) on the two parcels targeted for development and cut down – as opportunities to increase green coverage.
-- WHY WE MUST STOP A MASSIVE LOSS OF PROTECTED LIVE OAK TREES --
Green Space is Essential
In this sprawling and dense city, green space is essential for all communities, especially Eagle Rock. Hold on to what we have left, or else – it will never come back.
Save ALL The Green Hillsides
Let’s save ALL the green hillsides, now; let’s not wait to the last! Native trees are the signboards of our concerns and needs for all of the native/natural ecosystem; peacocks, parrots, and pigeon are the signboards that we don’t care.
Cutting Down 40, 29 Or 1 Live Oak Is Just Criminal
California Oak Trees are a state-protected tree. Cutting down 40, 29 or 1 is just criminal. Don’t allow a fragile landscape to be exploited. The Onteora Hillside Alliance needs neighbors to speak up against it (the development) proceeding any further. A Full Environmental Impact Report is not only requested but mandatory. The building project (ENV 2020-3136 EAF) will greatly affect our environment. In this case in a negative way.
Trees Protected For Years
If we cut the trees protected for years, that’s more than wrong. The runoff and damage to the homes below [will need] to get an attorney as soon as it starts. The city, the construction company, and the new home buyers all [go] into court.
Oak Trees Take Decades to Mature
Oak trees take decades to mature. New planting in a row, as Leap of Faith Partners, LLC (the developer) describes to serve as a visual barrier (above existing homes below Onteora Hill on Lockhaven Ave) will take years for the trees to mature and be detrimental to their survival.
Impossible to Transplant
Transplanting even a 6’ Oak would kill it because the tap root is so long.