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4 | April 18, 2019 | Malibu surfside news news<br />
malibusurfsidenews.com<br />
Malibu planning commission<br />
Tree trimming proposal draws residents’ ire<br />
SoCal Edison wants<br />
to trim 5,000 trees<br />
for fire prevention<br />
Michele Willer-Allred<br />
Freelance Reporter<br />
Community members attended<br />
the Malibu Planning<br />
Commission meeting on<br />
Monday, April 15, to voice<br />
their concerns about Southern<br />
California Edison’s<br />
plan to trim about 5,000<br />
trees citywide in an effort<br />
to mitigate fire risk next to<br />
transmission lines.<br />
According to SoCal Edison<br />
officials a 12-foot radius<br />
clearance around the<br />
trees is recommended to<br />
protect Edison transmission<br />
wires from fire danger.<br />
During the public comment<br />
period of the meeting,<br />
Malibu resident and<br />
environmental advocate<br />
Pat Healy talked about a<br />
community-wide concern<br />
of Edison’s “indiscriminate<br />
tree destruction plan in the<br />
name of safety.”<br />
“More than 23,000 trees<br />
were lost locally in the Santa<br />
Monica Mountains due<br />
to the last fire,” Healy said.<br />
“Now Edison is wanting to<br />
continue the devastation by<br />
chopping or topping more<br />
trees.<br />
“In many instances this<br />
brutal approach will result<br />
in leaving only tree trunks.<br />
Limbs and leaves will be<br />
destroyed, and other trees<br />
will have a hard time surviving<br />
since the tree will<br />
not be getting enough nutrients<br />
for the energy it<br />
needs.”<br />
According to her there is<br />
no discernment in how Edison<br />
trims the trees around<br />
its wires.<br />
Healy also raised the issue<br />
that protected trees will<br />
be in danger, as well as<br />
nesting birds.<br />
She said she was told that<br />
Edison recently chopped<br />
down a eucalyptus grove<br />
along Mulholland Highway<br />
that was a major monarch<br />
overwintering roosting site.<br />
“Edison’s vegetation<br />
plan is not only a visual<br />
blight but also an environmental<br />
disaster,” she said.<br />
Judy Villablanca, a<br />
Malibu Park and Recreation<br />
commissioner, said<br />
that oak, sycamore, walnut<br />
and alder trees burnt in the<br />
fire require long recovery<br />
times, and that trimming<br />
them too early post-fire<br />
may kill them.<br />
“Edison’s plan to remove<br />
5,000 trees in Malibu will<br />
further damage our ecosystem<br />
and violate the protections<br />
in place for native<br />
trees which needs to be enforced,”<br />
Villablanca said.<br />
“The fear of fire, which<br />
justifies some rational tree<br />
trimming, should not be<br />
used to justify unnecessary<br />
environmental damage.”<br />
Both Healy and<br />
Villablanca said a Coastal<br />
Development Permit is or<br />
should be required for Edison’s<br />
removal of protected<br />
trees, and when there is no<br />
alternative to removal of<br />
native trees, there should be<br />
a mitigation plan in place<br />
with an arborist or biologist<br />
monitoring the project.<br />
“Fire danger is a big concern<br />
as well, and Edison is<br />
under a lot of pressure to<br />
minimize fire danger to the<br />
extent that they can within<br />
their control,” Planning<br />
Director Bonnie Blue said.<br />
“So, we’re trying to figure<br />
out the best path forward<br />
for this.”<br />
She added that Edison officials<br />
have communicated<br />
with the city that they are<br />
working hard to make sure<br />
all their crews are trained<br />
on protocols involving<br />
nesting birds and working<br />
alongside with biologists.<br />
Planning Commissioner<br />
Chris Marx said it is important<br />
that Edison start<br />
the tree trimming in the<br />
west side of town, which<br />
is more fire prone, instead<br />
of the east side, which was<br />
severely impacted in the<br />
Woolsey Fire.<br />
“It’s frustrating to listen<br />
to this, because of all the<br />
fire that I’ve personally<br />
been through, I can only<br />
think of two that began in<br />
Malibu and neither one of<br />
them was related to an electrical<br />
interference,” Planning<br />
Commission Jeffrey<br />
Jennings said.<br />
Planning Commission<br />
Chairman Steve Uhring<br />
asked city staff to let the<br />
City Council know “there<br />
is a growing concern about<br />
taking these trees down,<br />
and maybe they can come<br />
back and revisit it.”<br />
News Briefs<br />
Malibu Farmers Market to<br />
continue during construction<br />
of Santa Monica College<br />
campus<br />
The Malibu City Council<br />
voted during the Council<br />
meeting on Monday,<br />
April 8 to allow the Malibu<br />
Farmers Market to use city<br />
land for customer parking<br />
during construction of<br />
the Santa Monica College<br />
satellite campus, offering<br />
a solution to help the<br />
popular farmers market to<br />
continue serving Malibu<br />
residents.<br />
Mayor Jefferson Wagner<br />
said the market has<br />
been offering residents a<br />
great sense of community<br />
every Sunday for years<br />
and the city needs more of<br />
that.<br />
Cornucopia Farmers<br />
Market, which operates<br />
the Malibu Farmers<br />
Market, had requested<br />
to use the city’s recently<br />
acquired parcel at 23575<br />
Civic Center Way, the<br />
site of the annual Chili<br />
Cookoff.<br />
Part of the parking lot<br />
of the Malibu Library<br />
and county-owned former<br />
courthouse building that<br />
was used by Farmers Market<br />
customers has been<br />
impacted by construction<br />
of the new Santa Monica<br />
College project. Space remained<br />
available for the<br />
vendor tents, but not for<br />
public customer parking.<br />
Construction on the satellite<br />
campus started in<br />
September 2018 and is<br />
expected to be finished<br />
in December of 2021<br />
with classes starting in<br />
2022.<br />
Nearly 50 percent of<br />
properties participating<br />
in state debris removal<br />
cleared of Woolsey, Hill<br />
Fire debris<br />
State contractors have removed<br />
debris generated by<br />
the Woolsey and Hill fires<br />
from 441 properties in Los<br />
Angeles and Ventura counties<br />
whose owners are participating<br />
in the state’s Consolidated<br />
Debris Removal<br />
Program, officials with the<br />
Debris Removal Operations<br />
Center, said April 8.<br />
According to DROC officials,<br />
contractors have removed<br />
nearly 181,000 tons<br />
of burned metal, concrete,<br />
ash and soil since operations<br />
began on February 6.<br />
So far, DROC officials have<br />
submitted final inspections<br />
reports for 96 properties in<br />
Los Angeles County and 11<br />
parcels in Ventura County<br />
to local officials, paving<br />
the way for owners to start<br />
the reconstruction of their<br />
homes.<br />
Submission of the final<br />
inspection report for each<br />
property followed the completion<br />
of site assessments;<br />
asbestos surveys; asbestos<br />
abatements, where needed;<br />
debris removal; analysis<br />
and testing of soil samples<br />
by a state-certified laboratory;<br />
the implementation<br />
of erosion control measures<br />
by state contractors;<br />
and a final walkthrough by<br />
state debris removal officials<br />
and operations staff.<br />
Electric company warns<br />
Malibu of impending tree<br />
cutting<br />
Southern California<br />
Edison said tree trimmers<br />
will arrive in Malibu over<br />
the next few weeks to cut<br />
more trees than the city has<br />
even seen.<br />
The electric company’s<br />
manager of vegetation<br />
management, Matt Sadler<br />
told the city council on<br />
April 8 that the state now<br />
recommends tree limbs be<br />
cut back much farther from<br />
power lines.<br />
Even though these rules<br />
are not completely binding,<br />
Edison will be enforcing<br />
them.<br />
The new state rules also<br />
require the electric company<br />
to avoid severe trimming<br />
of what they call protected<br />
trees.<br />
Oaks are protected trees<br />
in Malibu and the Edison<br />
Company official says<br />
they regard sycamore trees<br />
as protected in Malibu as<br />
well. However, pine or<br />
palm trees are likely to get<br />
axed.<br />
Residents are outraged<br />
and plan on challenging<br />
the company’s actions if<br />
required.<br />
Fun Easter events at the<br />
Malibu Country Mart<br />
A host of celebrations<br />
will take place at the Malibu<br />
Country Mart. Between<br />
a complimentary familyfriendly<br />
event complete<br />
with real Easter bunnies the<br />
Saturday before Easter Day<br />
and traditional Greek celebrations<br />
on Easter Sunday<br />
and Greek Easter, there is<br />
no shortage of ways to celebrate<br />
at the upscale seaside<br />
shopping destination.<br />
Please see news briefs, 7