A large row of pine trees that borders the as-yet-undeveloped community park on the south side of Highway 92, just east of the cemetery, is being swiftly removed. They will be replaced with Monterey cypress, and a trail set back from the road is also planned.
"When the (Half Moon Bay City Council) looked at the impact of losing trees, the decision was made to build a trail and do plantings of Monterey cypress," said Deputy City Manager Paul Nagengast.
 Workers with Atlas Tree Surgery cut down pine trees that had been marked with a white "X" along Highway 92 Thursday. The job was part of a project to widen Highway 92. |
"What we try to do is figure out the best way to save what we can and replace what we cut," said Nagengast.
What happens to the wood after a big cut is usually up to the contractor that does the work, said Nagengast. Along 92, the trees will be ground into chips fairly quickly, but on other jobs the fate of the trees is less immediate and members of the public may be able to come away with some lumber if the right inquiries are made.
However, there are trees - and there are trees.
"Sometimes diseased pine is not a particularly desirable product," said Nagengast.
The pines along the highway are thought to be diseased, and are certainly damaged, due to aggressive cutting by utility companies like Pacific Gas and Electric, he said.
"Next time you drive around just take a look - everywhere you go you'll see it," said Steve Flint, planning director for the city of Half Moon Bay. Flint, who has served in the planning departments of several other California municipalities, said it was common for PG&E to chop trees back from overhead lines in an arbitrary way that weakened them and made them more susceptible to disease. Part of the Highway 92 project involves moving utility lines underground, so the new cypress should have a better chance of staying intact.
The project calls for new medians as well. A large, landscaped median will go in across from the cemetery and another narrower one between Main Street and Highway 1. A new retaining wall will be built across from the community park location. The wall and rockwork on the medians will be in the same "fractured rock" style as retaining walls farther east on Highway 92, said Nagengast. The north Main Street block between highways 1 and 92 will be redone and bike lanes will be added. And the stretch of Main Street between Stone Pine Road and Highway 92 will be widened, with another traffic lane added.
"Anyone who wants to look at the plans can come to City Hall," said Nagengast. "We're not just getting rid of everything," he said of the tree work, "we're putting things back."
The city has a heritage tree ordinance, but the terms are loosely defined. A Draft Open Space Implementation Plan prepared for the city in 2004 recommends amending the ordinance to more clearly define what trees would be protected and to outline the process for removal of trees on the list. As it stands, a heritage tree is simply one that the city has designated as such - it's on the list - and little more is specified, Nagengast said. The city also has a heritage tree committee but positions are vacant, and the group has not been active for some time.
At the last council meeting, the topic was raised briefly. Jack McCarthy, a member of the Planning Commission, called for a "public process for trees" and asked people to apply for vacant positions on the committee. But in contrast to past years, there seems to be little concern at the moment that the cities trees will be arbitrarily chopped. Monterey cypress are a species that have great local resonance, according to Nagengast and other city officials, and even a stand of non-native eucalyptus on Redondo Beach Road will be preserved under the terms of a housing development that will complete the Ocean Colony subdivision.
"Unfortunately, trees - like people - have a life cycle," said Mayor Marina Fraser at the meeting.
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