Margaret Snyder
o7 "They took all our trees and put them in a tree museum
And they charged all the people a dollar and a half just to see 'em.
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone.
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot."
f7 -- Joni Mitchell from her song "Big Yellow Taxi"
The acrid smell of death hangs in the air on this blistering,
90-degree August afternoon. The murder victims, all branded with an
ominous white "X," are methodically taken down by orange-shirted
"contractors," one by one. Residents stand by helplessly and watch their
beautiful, tree-lined street transformed into a desolate concrete desert.
The wondrous, twisting carob branches reaching out across lawns were
70 years in the making. Within hours, all that remains is a patch of dirt
and sawdust. With nothing in the way to impede its progress, the freeway
sounds seem ever closer. The afternoon sun bakes the lawns and gardens
unaccustomed to the direct sizzling rays. The big, yellow machine of
death is parked like a sentry beside the last branded victim. Come
morning light, the murderers in hard hats will return to the scene to
carry out their contract. The last victim on the block will fall to
progress.
What crime did these victims commit? Was their only crime to be carob
trees or were they executed because they "ruffled" some concrete
sidewalks and driveways? Sidewalks and driveways can be fixed. It takes a
lifetime to grow a tree. Each carob tree on the block was sheared off
indiscriminately, whether diseased and ailing or healthy and thriving.
Who knows how many little animal and bird creatures were displaced, or
worse, as a result of this project. How much higher will our
air-conditioning bills climb now that our shade is gone? How much more
water will it take to keep our lawns green as they lie exposed to the
parching sun's rays?
Were environmental studies done to analyze the impact? Did the city of
Glendale adhere to Section 65402 of the Government Code? According to
this Act: "All local agencies shall prepare, or cause to be prepared by
contract, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on
any project they intend to carry out or approve which may have a
significant effect on the environment. When a report is required by
Section 65402 of the Government Code, the environmental impact report may
be submitted as a part of that report." (Environment is defined by the
act as the physical conditions including land, air, water, minerals,
