City Allows Hyatt to Cut Down 110-Year-Old Heritage Tree
It is a designated Heritage Tree in the city of Santa Cruz, and featured on the city’s heritage tree brochure which was distributed by Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation on April 19, 2014 to commemorate Earth Day in San Lorenzo Park. Gillian Greensite of Save Our Big Trees states that it is the oldest of only three red horse chestnut trees in the city.
The Planning Commission and Santa Cruz City Council have given the Hyatt Corporation a green light to cut the tree down and build a four-story Hyatt Place Hotel.
Gillian Greensite asked Bruce Bratton to help spread the news and publish her call to action for saving the tree:
Here’s the contact information for Global Head of Hyatt Real Estate.
Chris Dobbins, Vice President of Development, christopher.dobbins@hyatt.com (480) 308 2915
For more coverage and information, check out:
- KSBW 4/14/14: Santa Cruz activists attempt to save chestnut tree
- Good Times 4/16/14: When a Tree Falls
- Sentinel 4/17/14: Activists vying for Santa Cruz tree protection
What do you think? Should the 110-year-old tree be protected?
I would like to capture video of the complete removal process of this tree.
Please contact me if you have some info about it.
Also Broadway is a really bad location for a hotel. The traffic is already impacted and the hotel will only make a bigger mess. In addition it is not fair to the local residents to bring more traffic and noise to that already loud and seedy neighborhood.
What was the planning commission thinking? Oh wait they probably are weighted down with payoff money in their pockets. SHAME on them. Let's demand a removal of them all from the commission instead of the the Red Chestnut tree. Start with Mari Tustin corrupt VP of the John Stewart Company, a property management company in Scotts Valley!!!
On May 13, 2015, I was searching online for information on the "Heritage Tree Ordinance" in Santa Cruz. I was surprised to find that the information has been removed from the city's website: http://www.cityofsantacruz.com
Previously, the City of Santa Cruz had "Tree Programs" pages on their website, including:
City of Santa Cruz : Tree Programs
http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/departments/parks-recreation/tree-programs
City of Santa Cruz : Heritage Tree Ordinance
http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/departments/parks-recreation/tree-programs/permits-for-removal-pruning/heritage-tree-ordinance
Now the result is:
Page Not Found...
The page you are looking for,
http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/departments/parks-recreation/tree-programs,
may have been removed, renamed, entered wrong, or is temporarily unavailable.
Same result for:
http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/departments/parks-recreation/tree-programs/permits-for-removal-pruning/heritage-tree-ordinance
The municipal code itself is still published at:
Santa Cruz Municipal Code
http://www.codepublishing.com/ca/santacruz/
Chapter 9.56
PRESERVATION OF HERITAGE TREES
http://www.codepublishing.com/ca/santacruz/html/santacruz09/santacruz0956.html
Why did the City of Santa Cruz remove information about the Heritage Tree Ordinance from the city website: http://www.cityofsantacruz.com ??
The City of Santa Cruz has a printed pamphlet called "City of Santa Cruz Heritage Trees." It sure would be nice if the information in that pamphlet was available on the city's website.
The pamphlet includes information and people to contact concerning the Heritage Tree program. The rest of the brochure contains, "Significant Santa Cruz Heritage trees listed by common name, date designated as a heritage tree, latin name, and location."
She was not aware of the broken links on the city website, thanked me, and said she would speak with people who can address the issue. Leslie said that in fifteen years, I am the first person to call and bring attention to mistakes or outdated information.
The pamphlet was made many years ago, and while still a valuable resource, has become a bit outdated. Leslie said she would work to update the pamphlet, and I agreed to contribute photos, as well as suggestions for additional heritage trees and shrubs.
It was a pleasure speaking with Leslie. It seems that the City of Santa Cruz is fortunate to have her contributions.
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