Erik Oeverndiek/Daily Journal Burlingame residents will meet Monday evening to discuss the fate of an overgrown eucalyptus tree in front of the Easton Library and the traffic problems it creates on the street.

Under the serenity of a green canopy, a claw-like root encroaching into Easton Drive in Burlingame is pitting residents against one another.

The residents are arguing over maintaining the beauty of the tall eucalyptus-created urban-forest feel on the tree-lined street against the safety of drivers and pedestrians in the residential neighborhood.

The battle of beauty versus safety is not a new one for Burlingame, which is a well known for having pride in the many trees throughout the city. On Monday, the fight continues, as the City Council will once again need to decide what will happen for the tree-laden area. At least four options are presented, although not all options are up to safety standards nor does City Manager Jim Nantell recommend every option.

Much of Nantell’s concern wraps around money and the desire of the affected community. The city could chose to realign the street, for example, however just studying the idea would cost $40,000 and executing the plan nearly an additional $80,000. It’s simply not in the budget, said Nantell. This reasoning doesn’t even take into account the blind turn that would be created, which doesn’t meet safety standards.

Another option is to leave everything as is or add signs to the area to mark the bump. This doesn’t change the need for many drivers to drive on the wrong side of the road.

Turning the lower portion of Easton Drive into a one-way street could be studied for $50,000. Before moving forward with any large street changes, Nantell suggests the surrounding community be polled.

“I’d rather spend $500 polling people than $50,000 making a plan they don’t want,” he said.

Lastly, the tree could be removed and replaced — as originally decided.

Advocates for saving the tree aren’t sold on the safety reasons behind a removal noting only one car accident has occurred at the intersection with no reason to believe the root was a factor.

Talk of removing this particular leafy giant, which has come to be known as Tom to locals wishing to save it, began in early 2004 when the Public Works Department contacted an arborist to study the health of the tree and its effects on traffic safety in the area. The Beautification Commission first approved the removal of the tree in early 2005, a decision that was appealed a couple times before moving onto the council in March 2005. Even the Library Board voted in favor of removing the tree. The tree is directly in front of the Easton Library.

At that time, the City Council asked the Traffic, Safety and Parking and Beautification commissions to revisit the situation paying attention to a reforestation plan and safety.

Construction on Easton Drive delayed realignment and traffic studies. The TSP Commission decided to shelve the studies in late 2005 seeing it as a waste of staff time and energy with no decision on the horizon.

Tom’s future resurfaced in April 2006 when a special community meeting was held to discuss reforestation on Easton. A number of meetings followed resulting in a list of community-approved replacements for the area. This list was accepted in November 2006 by the City Council, which voted 3-2 the following month to remove Tom.

Community uproar followed when residents felt the decision was hastily made. This gave the billowing plant a chance to continue holding its place in front of the library as Mayor Terry Nagel called for further community input.

After months of additional research by city staff and about $5,000 in outside consulting services, Tom’s fate once again comes before the council.

“Burlingame has always had a soft spot for trees, since the turn of the century where organized people had organized to save the trees in and around Burlingame. People historically rallied around trees. This might be the first time people rallied around one specific tree,” said Russ Cohen, councilman and Burlingame Historical Society president.

The love affair with trees dates back to the late 1800s when landscape architect John McLaren came on board to help develop the Burlingame/Hillsborough area. McLaren favored elms and eucalyptus trees. The eucalyptus trees were originally planted to allow the elms to prosper, then be removed. It didn’t work out that way, since the elms weren’t as successful. That left the eucalyptus as the main tree of the area.

Many of these trees were planted along County Road, which later became El Camino Real. The corridor was adorned with trees long before it was paved in 1914. Drivers began complaining about the safety hazards of the bark-covered giants in 1916 with no action taken. Battles again erupted in the 1930s and have continued through the years any time removing even a limb is brought up in discussion.

Battles aside, pride for the leafy-canopy covered city was always an issue. In 1977, the Beautification Commission even produced a guide to the various trees in Burlingame. It features photos, scientific names, maps and a brief history. Only two copies of the about 60-page booklet remain in the main branch of the library today.

This year Burlingame was named a Tree City USA for the 28th consecutive year — furthering the argument to keep large trees despite safety concerns.

The council meets 7 p.m. Monday, May 7 at City Hall, 521 Primrose Road, Burlingame.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.