Save the Palm Trees of Vallemar
- by: Alp Sendil
- recipient: Pacific Gas & Electric - Vegetation Management
PG&E wants to remove at least 11 palm trees in the near future, 3 right now. Help us convince the utility company that their wires belong underground. If the wires cannot go underground, PG&E should move the utility poles to maintain the high voltage lines, rather than destroying our beautiful trees.
The palm trees were planted decades before the lines were installed. The utility company was negligent when it placed high voltage wires directly above trees that cannot be trimmed. Tell the utility company to please fix their mistake without destroying our beloved trees!
Please consider placing high voltage wires underground. Although expensive up front, the cost amortized over 40 years would surely offset the cost of annual power outages and vegetation management. The large number of old trees in the Vallemar neighborhood must be a constant source of maintenance work for PG&E.
If placing wires underground is not a feasible option, please consider moving utility poles where possible, rather than cutting down palm trees.
Here's why PG&E should take care of this problem without destroying our trees:
- The palm trees were planted long before the utility lines; when the power lines were built, the trees were well established. The palm trees were planted about 1906-1915, the power lines were set up about 1940-1958.
- PG&E was responsible for choosing the location and constructing utility lines directly above palm trees. The company should have foreseen that the trees would eventually grow into the lines, and placed them elsewhere.
- PG&E is required by law to maintain the lines, and that includes responsibly placing utility lines in a location where they may be maintainable.
- Relocating utility poles is cheaper than replacing palm trees, and that can save the three trees in question today. A utility pole in Vallemar, Pacifica was relocated in 2000 by PG&E for about $7500. Replacing a mature palm tree would cost about $25,000.
The palm trees provide an identity and character to the Vallemar neighborhood of Pacifica. Removing these trees not only damages specific homes, but the landscape of the entire neighborhood, disrupting a continuity that has been there for almost a century. Please, let's find a way to not remove these tree which mean so much to our community.
Thank you,
