Photos by Gillian Greensite
What is a heritage tree?
Each city and the county defines a heritage tree slightly differently. For example, the county does not protect any trees outside of the coastal zone, which means in some areas only a narrow band within half a mile of the coastline are "significant" trees protected. In the city of Santa Cruz, a heritage tree is defined as any tree with a trunk of forty-four inches circumference measured at fifty-four inches above existing grade. For trees below that measurement, if the city council so designates, then an unusually beautiful or distinctive tree or one that is very old or is a distinctive specimen, rare or providing a valuable habitat can also be a heritage tree.
Heritage Tree Ordinance Revisions
The Heritage Tree Ordinance, a document that protects heritage trees in the city of Santa Cruz, has recently been revised to make it easier for property owners to legally remove big trees, ultimately increasing the number of trees that are removed each year. The revision addresses a few minor points but overall weakens protection for heritage trees by re-defining emergency as an “imminent” danger rather than an “immediate” danger as per the former Heritage Tree Ordinance.
Additionally, revisions include expanding grounds for removal to include allergies, “objectionable” insects, and “unreasonable” financial burdens. Trees that were formally protected because they were unique species or were planted as a commemorative now need council approval to be protected. Under the new Heritage Tree Ordinance the blue gum, Eucalyptus globulus, one of the largest and oldest of tree species in our urban forest has vastly reduced protection except for solitary specimens.
Many species such as songbirds, raptors, bees and monarch butterflies rely on this species for habitat and need the immediate protection that the old Heritage Tree Ordinance offered them. Moreover, all of the revisions included no environmental review of the impacts of taking these big trees out of protection. To learn about the carbon released by the removal of heritage trees, please read this letter by Alexander Gershenson of EcoShift Consulting, written to the Santa Cruz City Council.
The Sierra Club has voted to make county-wide heritage tree preservation a focus of work to save our big trees!