Tree ordinance under scrutiny

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — City officials got off to a quiet start Wednesday night in their campaign to gather public input on how to change the Indigenous Tree Ordinance that last year produced a $347,000 fine for one Glendale couple.

News of the fine, and others like it, sparked a torrent of criticism from the community little more than six months after the City Council adopted the fortified tree protections to appease resident fears that developers would clear mature, indigenous trees for new projects.

After enduring weeks of criticism over what many called an administrative gaffe in even issuing the fines — let alone the formula used to calculate them — the City Council on Dec. 20 postponed changing the ordinance until it had time to gather input through a series of public meetings.

City officials held the first of four such meetings Wednesday night at the Brand Library, and while just a handful of residents showed up, their complaints and concerns were a microcosm of the flurry of criticism that hit City Hall just two months ago.

Homeowners lamented over the increasing cost to hire qualified tree trimmers, an environmentalist was concerned recent outcry would soften the ordinance, a landscape architect argued in favor of an appeals process for fines and others thought allowances should be made for fire abatement or tree limb interference with infrastructure.

The Public Works Department and City Manager’s Office sent emissaries who have had no involvement with the contentious issue — including community relations Manager Zizette Ayad and Public Works Administrator Mike Wiederkehr — and could then gather comments without any possible bias, Wiederkehr said.

“We have no dog in the fight,” Wiederkehr said. “None of us are arborists. None of us are tree people.”

Ann and Mike Collard were fined $347,000 for illegally trimming 13 protected trees in August. Around the same time, John Oppenheim was hit with a $170,000 fine for illegally pruning nearly a dozen trees, two of which were allegedly in the city’s right-of-way.

Both parties argued they were unaware of the strict ordinance and did not intend to violate the ordinance, and after weeks of intensified pressure, the city dropped the fines.