The potential removal of 20 privet trees at the Woodlake Condominiums in San Mateo sought by its homeowner association board has sparked controversy among residents fighting for them to stay.
The 40-foot-high trees are affectionately known for being in a tree circle in the center of the Woodlake community, not far from the lake in the common area, providing a quiet and renowned respite for residents. However, the Woodlake Association, made up of elected residents who govern the common areas, argue the trees are decaying and should be removed for public safety concerns and replaced with a tree called purple honey locust. Residents fighting that decision believe the trees are safe based on separate arborist reports and are upset about what they say is a lack of transparency and communication about the decision and reasoning, other than it was a public safety issue.
Woodlake resident David Rubinson first heard about the issue June 16 when the Woodlake Association sent a letter to residents saying the trees would be removed, prompting a call to organize and save the trees. Robinson and about 60 other residents had expressed concerns about removing the privets and the short comment period from when the letter was sent to a June 30 final comment date. He and others noted two other arborists, including the city’s managing arborist, have said the trees are not dangerous. He views the trees as an incredible part of a beautiful garden, similar to when he lived in France. Rubinson said the board had been unresponsive to community concerns and questions about the potential tree-cutting and wanted to see more transparency to reduce the atmosphere of distrust.
“The trees give us quiet. It gives us an oasis of peace and quiet, and the idea of taking them down is horrifying,” Rubinson said. “We can’t even imagine.”
Other residents like Rob Gibson have lived at Woodlake for 30 years. He and other residents are organizing and taking action to protect the trees, attending homeowner association meetings and working to make their voices heard. Everybody he has talked to wants to keep the trees, and while he favored chopping down a tree if there was a public safety issue, he didn’t believe Woodlake should remove all 20.
“They are chopping down these trees, and no one can figure out why,” Gibson said.
According to residents, the Woodlake board hired an arborist who recommended removing the 20 trees over safety concerns in a May report, leading to the association sending a protected tree work application to the city. However, city managing arborist Matthew Fried denied the permit. He determined the trees were not dead, dying or dangerous. Fried also believed their removal would have an adverse effect on the scenic quality of the neighborhood, he said in an email. The residents fighting to save the trees have also hired an arborist to provide a report, and that arborist noted that the privets could survive another 10 to 20 years with proper care. The Woodlake Association Board has appealed the city’s decision, and it is in the hands of the city and Parks and Recreation Director Joanne Magrini to decide. Fried said Magrini will issue her decision before the middle of August, and her decision can be appealed to the Park and Recreation Commission within 10 days. The City Council remains the final level of appeal.
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According to an email statement from the Board of Directors of the Woodlake Association, the board has been dealing with a situation of dying and decaying privets on the association’s common area, saying it took action to protect residents from potential physical harm. It also hired experts to examine the trees on subsequent actions and provide advice, which led to the decision to remove the privets and replace them with purple honey locust trees so that the tradition of the tree circle could continue.
“The board discussed this project openly for many months at open-session board meetings that all members of the association were free to attend. The board met its fiduciary obligations by performing a reasonable investigation to protect the association and its interests, engaging experts and relying on their advice, deliberating, and openly communicating openly with homeowners regarding the project. The association is awaiting the results of its appeal.”
Catherine McCollom moved to the area to be closer to her family and has had many memories of walking near the tree area with her granddaughter. She treasures the trees because of her family time there and because it is the easiest place for her to walk and relax due to her mobility issues. Resident Sharon Tennison said she understood why there was public safety worry and suggested having residents sign a letter promising not to sue the company, arguing more personal responsibility could help ensure the unique trees will remain.
“I love the trees. I think they are historic, unique,” Tennison said. “I think we should definitely keep them.”
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