Red Car Property: Beautiful Decay

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 25, 2016.  Yes, we're tired of all the dead tree, fire and tree removal posts too. Find some beauty in the dead, non-native wild radish plants on the north end of the property.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Riverside Drive: More Trees Cut Down Saturday

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor #1, August 29, 2016.  Saturday, more large trees including at least one Protected Native Black Walnut Tree and a "significant" sized Eucalyptus were removed along with other trees from yet another lot on Riverside Drive.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

It's hard to tell the addresses when there are a total of 13 substandard vacant lots adjacent to the Red Car Property here. More than one Black Walnut Tree has been removed since August 15.   A "significant" tree has no protected status, but usually require replacement on a 1:1 basis with a tree that won't reach that size again in our lifetimes.  Yet, without a discretionary action by City Planning, there is no public review and no accountability.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor #2, August 26, 2016.  Last Friday, the developer tore down the much beloved local landmark, the curvy stairs on Riverside Drive and cut into the hillside on a number of lots with a backhoe, despite only having grading permits in hand for 1 of the 13 vacant lots (and not the one with the curvy stairs.)

Also worth noting is the ancient concrete property line marker that marks the rear lot line adjacent to the Red Car Property.  (We'll address property line markers and brush clearance in upcoming posts.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 24, 2016.  It's hard to tell, but the wall with graffiti on it, is hidden behind the Black Walnut Tree.  

Also worth noting are the low, green "bushes."  Those are not bushes, but protected native Black Walnut Trees that were cut down 2 years ago without permits. They have been regenerating as native trees in the right habitat will do.  We addressed this in the past as well as after the Silver Lake Fire and will address this again as we have extensive archives.

In my experience, if they're cutting down trees on a Saturday, they likely don't have a permits to remove the protected native trees.  This lot does not appear to have the same address as the lot which received a permit to remove one protected native Black Walnut Tree.

2 Freeway: What Difference Do Trees Make? Part 2

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 18, 2009.  The scale of the loss of trees on the 2 Freeway adjacent Corralitas Drive is only evident when people are in the photos with trees.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

It's hard to imagine the southbound lanes of the 2 Freeway are about 15' away from the urban hikers of The Big Parade 2009 on Corralitas Walk.

Photo: Lupita Chapa, August 5, 2016.  A month after the Silver  Lake Fire, CalTrans began removing the 50+ year old enormous Eucalyptus and Brazilian Pepper Trees (that for the 26 years I've lived on Corralitas Drive) have formed a 30-40' tall green barrier between Corralitas and the Southbound lanes of 2 Freeway.

Don't expect to see new trees planted here. CalTrans is under water restrictions imposed by Governor Brown.  If we're lucky, we might get some ground cover to help prevent erosion.  I've spoken to two CalTrans representatives who have told me, on multiple occasions - even before the Silver Lake Fire, trees planted on freeway parkways do not clean the air, control dust, mitigate sound, provide psychological benefits or provide a safety barrier.  I guess trees lose their ability to do those things when they're planted on freeways. 

Yes trees planted today won't mitigate much right now.  However, that is no reason to ignore the long term effects of tree planting.

Earlier this year Doug Brown, Senior Landscape Architect for CalTrans was quoted in a Scientific American story, "When managed properly, trees are proven cost-effective mitigation measures that sequester carbon.”  (Sequestering carbon is how trees remove pollutants from the air and store it underground.) 

Photo: Lupita Chapa, August 5, 2016.  As far as public safety goes, there is only about 50 feet of guard rail near the freeway signs that cross the freeway, which are north of where the cars usually fly off the freeway  - to be stopped by the large (now removed) Eucalyptus.

CalTrans is concerned about the safety of drivers, not the safety of those who have chosen to live next to a freeway because it was affordable.  Until the Silver Lake Fire, and CalTrans' subsequent removal of trees their landscape experts deemed necessary, trees made living across the narrow street from the freeway tolerable.

2 Freeway: CalTrans Picked Up Trash

Photo: Corralitas Neighbor, August 25, 2016.  A CalTrans crew picked up trash the CalTrans crew of tree trimmers left behind last week.  The neighbor said in a text "There were CalTrans people all over the bottom of the hill, along the highway and under the bridge [Rosebud] cleaning and working when I left this morning. "

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 20, 2016.  Remarkably, the Silver Lake Fire, which burned most of the 2 Freeway parkways between the Red Car Property and Riverside Drive, did not burn this part of the parkway from Rosebud & Allesandro to Riverside Drive where the Brazillian Pepper Trees were a pretty solid wall of green.  Neighbors were sad to see the green go last week.  CalTrans left the first enormous Eucalyptus in this shot, the same tree is still standing in the first photo.  It is the tree where the Red Tailed Hawks have a nest near the top third of the tree.  The hawks returned with fledglings to the nest on the night of the fire. 
 

Corralitas Drive: Feeling Exposed

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, July 26, 2016.  Neighbors on the short end of Corralitas Drive are feeling awfully exposed to the 2 Freeway since CalTrans cut down trees in the past month.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

With only about 50' of guard rail near the freeway signs (in the above photo), neighbors don't want to let their kids play out in the street after CalTrans cut down trees since the Silver Lake Fire.  Neighbors directly across the street from the southbound lanes of the 2 Freeway, are asking for a sound wall and trees.  The 50+ year old Eucalyptus trees (the pile of trees in the above photo) did prevent more than one car from flying off the southbound lanes of the 2 Freeway in 2015.

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, August 10, 2016.  Corralitas Drive south of the Rosebud Overpass on the 2 Freeway used to have a lush stand of trees to block the view of the freeway.  Now, living next to the 2 Freeway is louder, dirtier and less safe.  

Last month, a CalTrans representative told me the vegetation along our portion of the 2 Freeway was originally planted for erosion control on the steep slope.  He said trees on the freeway do not block sound, clean the air nor serve a safety purpose.

Worth noting in both of these photos is the scale of the cut wood, trees and retaining walls in relationship with the workers, heavy equipment and trucks.  There are only 8 houses on this part of Corralitas Drive.  Six homes lost a bucolic view when the freeway was built in 1960.  (Two homes were built in the last decade.) 

CBS Los Angeles posted a collection of photos from the Silver Lake Fire by photographer Matt Hartman, Shorealone Films.  The photos primarily show the 2 Freeway on fire.
 

2 Freeway: What Difference Do Trees Make?

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 20, 2012.  More than 100 people appreciated the shade of the trees on the southbound 2 Freeway parkway as they took  Corralitas Walk from Allesandro Way to the Corralitas Red Car Property on Day 2 of The Big Parade 2012.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Lupita Chapa, August 5, 2016.  Six weeks after the Silver Lake Fire, a clump of 3 big trees and a smattering of smaller trees will not provide much shade now.  In the past month, CalTrans has removed trees on the 2 Freeway to further reduce the fire danger.  

The Eucalyptus on the Red Car Property slope has sprouted new growth near the trunk and larger branches, but should be trimmed back to reduce further fire danger.

Riverside Drive: Chopped

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 15, 2016.  Last week, a large crew clear cut all of the trees and brush on a number of vacant lots on Riverside Drive between Gilroy and Fletcher. This is well beyond brush clearance.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 15, 2016.  A large crew worked quickly,   removing all evidence of all the protected native Black Walnuts as well as all the other trees on what appears to be 8 or 9 vacant lots.  Most of these lots are the same lots where the property owner cut down more than 15 protected native trees without permits in August 2014.  

We don't know if the property owner was fined for the 2014 tree removal.  These lots were a testament to the hardiness of California Black Walnuts, as many of the larger trees cut down in 2014 were growing back.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 15, 2016.  According to CD13, the developer secured a permit from the City's Department of Urban Forestry to remove 1 protected native Black Walnut Tree.  Dozens of Black Walnuts were cut down last Monday.  In addition to the numerous protected native trees of all sizes, they also removed an unknown number of significant trees (with a trunk diameter of 8" or more).  Those trees don't count.

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 15, 2016.  We've said it before.  The City's Protected Native Tree Ordinance doesn't do what it purports to do - protect our native hillside habitat by protecting specific native trees.  Instead, it just gives developers a formula for cutting down our native trees, which are becoming more scarce every day.

Riverside Drive: Lots Clear Cut Of All Trees

Photo: Red Car Property Neighbor, August 15, 2016.  Monday, I received an alarmed email from a neighbor, saying a large crew was cutting down ALL of the trees on the Riverside Drive lots (between Gilroy and Fletcher) where, in 2014, more than 15 protected native trees were cut down without permits from the City.  Trees were also being cut down from an adjacent Red Car Property lot as well as one or two lots not included in the unpermitted tree removal 2 years ago. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photos from more than one neighbor, were posted to Twitter as soon we received them.  Inquiries and photos were also sent to CD13.  A CD13 representative responded that a permit was issued to remove one protected California Black Walnut Tree on one lot. 

Two years ago, we reported illegal tree removal as it was happening.  In 2014, they chopped down the largest and healthiest Black Walnuts first.  Like Monday, it was a large crew that moved quickly.  At the time, there were no applications pending with Building & Safety.  No permits for protected tree removal were applied for either. 

Today, there appear to be 8 or 9 building permits for homes, in various stages of plancheck, submitted separately for each of the 8 or 9 substandard lots.  A permit for removing 1 protected Black Walnut Tree was issued for just one of the lots.  It is not the same lot for which grading permits were already issued.

Expect a lot of grading activity as (according to the applications submitted) they will be cutting into the hillside and building retaining walls. No discretionary actions by City Planning were involved, so there was no public review. 

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 24, 2016.  A couple of months ago, I was impressed at the number of protected California Black Walnuts had grown back on the lots from the August 2015 carnage.

CD13 did not respond to  questions regarding whether or not the property owners were ever fined for illegal 2014 protected tree removal.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, May 24, 2016. The Eucalyptus tree in the center of this photo is the large Eucalyptus still standing the first photo, as was the Black Walnut directly to the left of it.  

Also worth noting: the dry Arundo on the top of the hill is also still standing on the Red Car Property Lot C.  Neighbors are still awaiting brush clearance throughout the Red Car Property.

Related
Riverside Drive: Mudwatch, January 10, 2016

2 Freeway: CalTrans Butchers Trees, Leaves Piles Of Trash

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, August 15, 2016.  CalTrans began cutting down Brazilian Pepper Trees on the northbound lanes of the 2 Freeway that were NOT burned by the Silver Lake Fire on June 19, 2016, yet left the load of trash on the slope.  For scale - that retaining wall along Allesandro Street is about 6 feet tall.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

It should come as no surprise that CalTrans removed the trees northeast of the Rosebud Overpass at Allesandro.  I had to call their government relations flak shortly after the fire to ensure he was aware the giant tree where the Red Tail Hawks nest (the first large tree on the left) was not even scorched in the fire.  At the time,  he was not sure if the tree was destined for removal.  Trees were evaluated by CalTrans tree experts and biologists. 

A month ago, the CalTrans rep told me they would be removing trees that were a danger to their roads and drivers.  They are not in the landscape business, it is not their job to make make it attractive for neighbors.  (Mitigations for living next to a freeway be damned.)  In the past few weeks, neighbors alerted the tree removal crews to the longstanding hawk nest as well.

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, August 15, 2016.  If you look closely in this section alone, there appear to be at least 3 clumps of Brazilian Pepper Trees removed.  As of today, the trash was still there.  We don't know what was under the sawdust.  

CalTrans will not be planting new trees. 

August 22, 2016, UPDATE: A neighbor forwarded a service request sent to CalTrans to pick up the trash on the 2 Freeway.  You can file service requests on CalTrans' website.

Corralitas Drive: Trees Made Living Next To The 2 Freeway More Tolerable

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 29, 2015.  There was was a dense thicket of trees on the parkway adjacent to the southbound lanes of the 2 Freeway.  To better grasp the scale of the trees check out the two DWP workers hanging from the telephone pole on the right.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Corralitas Neighbor, August 9, 2016.  For the past few weeks, CalTrans has been butchering what's left the 2 Freeway trees, many of which were indeed damaged by the Silver Lake Fire, June 19, 2016.

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, August 10, 2016.  Today, residents who previously had a 40' wall of vegetation, now have a noisy, dirty constant reminder they live next to the freeway.  There are limited guard rails and now there are only 3 big eucalyptus to hopefully prevent cars from flying off the freeway.

Red Car Property: New Park Bench

Photo: Gary Vlahakis, August 5, 2016.  The City will not pick up dumping from the Red Car Property.  It's not a park, it just looks like one.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

However, as you sit on the new bench, notice the dry brush still has not been cleared except where neighbors have cleared it back from their fences.  Bamboo, arundo and dry pine trees are on the Lake View side of the Red Car Property.  All three are highly combustible and have no business being so close to homes. In the distance, in the canyon, you can see the tops of dead eucalyptus trees, also highly combustible. 

Large 6 to 8 inch long burning embers blew through this corridor during the Silver Lake Fire on June 19, 2016.  Neighbors as far north as India Street and Roselin, just off the Red Car Property, reported seeing the embers fly past their homes.  We were very lucky indeed.

Red Car Property: Eucalyptus Does Support Wildlife

Photo: Diane Edwardson, June 16, 2016.  As much as I hate non-native, highly combustible, ever more dead and dying eucalyptus trees in our dry landscape, they do provide food in the form of bugs for wildlife, like this Oriole.  I suspect it's a male Scott's Oriole. in a dying eucalyptus on the Red Car Property near Adelbert. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Through the years, Red Car Property neighbors have asked me about birds with strikingly contrasting yellow and black feathers. (I'm no bird expert but I do shoot photos of raptors and unusual or scenic bird sightings.) There are several different types of birds with yellow feathers around the Red Car Property; most do not appear to live here year round.  This is the first time I've seen this particularly stylish bird.  The shape of its beak also caught my eye.   

If you live adjacent to the Red Car Property and have backyard wildlife photos or video to share, send them to redcarproperty@gmail.com along with the date, where the photos were taken (your address will not be published) along with a brief description of what the wildlife was doing at the time.  It's also helpful to provide a wide/establishing shot, to help understand what drew the wildlife to your yard in the first place. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FEED OR TOUCH WILDLIFE.