Butte County, PG&E emphasize need for communication with future tree removals - 0 views
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Flowers placed on a stump of a tree removed by PG&E at the Oroville Cemetery as part of the utility’s Pathways Pipeline Project. As the tree-removal work continues in Butte County, efforts are be made to avoid or ease the controversy that happened in Oroville.
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Chico >> No one wants another Oroville tree fiasco.Butte County, PG&E and other stakeholders are working together to try to prevent another controversy surrounding tree removals planned to take place around Chico as part of the Pathways Pipeline Project. Final tree removal numbers and locations have not been established but both the county and PG&E pledge that communication is a critical factor.
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“We are very hopeful we can have a collaborative process and the public can be very informed,” said Paul Hahn, Butte County’s chief administrative officer. “There will be no quick decisions and trees are not going to just start disappearing.”
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The eventual removal of about 15 trees on Feather River Boulevard in front of the Oroville Cemetery was the subject of months of protests by citizens. The protest began in late November, with PG&E insisting the project was necessary for safety and access to its high-pressure gas-transmission line, and protesters arguing the trees were not a risk and strapping themselves to trees to protect them.
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In all, 240 trees were removed in Oroville as part of the Pipeline Pathways Project. Tree removals in Paradise are next on the list for the Butte County area, although some trees in and near Chico have also been identified.
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Conversations about planned tree removals have included Butte County supervisors, Sheriff Kory Honea and Public Works Director Mike Crump, as well as representatives from Butte Environmental Council, which is particularly concerned with the tree replacement plan.On Friday, BEC members met with PG&E and discussed 62 trees to be removed in the Comanche Creek greenway, including some sizeable oaks. PG&E agreed to follow Chico tree protection and mitigation guidelines, which could involve planting 150 trees to replace those to be removed, said BEC board member Mark Stemen.
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“We stated in no uncertain terms that we are not issuing any permits for tree removal within the county until we have had a robust public process, including some of the neighbors’ involvement and the Board of Supervisors, possibly,” Hahn said.