Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract: 2 Years Later, Not So Spiritual Anymore

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 28, 2011.  The Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract's former almost-4-acre garden lots lived up to their tract's name with a thriving urban forest. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 28, 2012.  The neighborhood endured 9 months of grading on the denuded slopes. 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 29, 2013.  The controversial development of 15 stucco boxes will soon be completed.  It will take another 50 years for the trees to reach become an urban forest again, if they grow on the compacted slopes.  

Allesandro Street between Rosebud & El Moran is a heat island now.  The developer chose to plant no trees in the parkway between the street and the sidewalk, despite neighbors asking for trees there from the beginning of the discretionary approval process for the subdivision.  There are trees appropriate for planting beneath power lines. 

There are, however, additional concrete light poles now, so we have additional clutter, but no trees.  They couldn't just put a few more arms on the existing wood power poles? 

Note: The mature trees remaining on the hill above the new homes are NOT on the 4-acre development site.  Only 5 mature tree remained in the plans after deforestation, most of those; Eucalyptus.