The Live Oaks Hold Our Very Hillside Together

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.