By Mary O’KEEFE

The tree that recently fell in a local neighborhood has many residents concerned about future dangers.

It was on March 29 when neighbors in the 3900 block of El Lado Drive in the Glenwood Oaks area heard a crack and then saw a large oak tree topple to the ground trapping a woman, 76, from Tujunga. The woman’s legs were severely injured and she was transported to the hospital. It is a scene the neighbors will not soon forget and also one they hope will not repeat itself.

Neighbor Christie Lipscomb lives near where the tree fell and, like many residents in the area, has several oak trees on her property – 42 oak trees.

“I spoke a few years ago to an [arborist] about a dead tree in my yard. I was told it wasn’t ‘dead enough’ to cut it down,” she said.

According to several neighbors, this type of comment from arborists is not uncommon. In addition to the dead oak, there are trees with limbs that hang low into the Lipscomb driveway and the Glendale Fire Dept. representatives have told the family the dry and dead trees in the nearby mountain area can be a fire hazard.

Ron De Lamare lives near where the tree fell. He has oak trees in his yard as well and is concerned about one in particular that is leaning against his house.

“It is threatening our home,” he said.

If the tree fell, it would go into the kitchen of his home. He and his family have lived in his home since 1969. A few years ago, a tree fell on his kids’ playhouse. Luckily the kids were not in the playhouse at the time. De Lamare said that although he has not contacted the city regarding the issue, he has heard from other neighbors about the trials and tribulations when dealing with the oak tree ordinance permit.

“[One neighbor] had a tree that was damaging the home’s foundation,” he said. He said that neighbor called the Glendale Public Works Dept. and had an arborist come out.

“They said there wasn’t enough damage to the home to get a permit,” he said.

Permits are required as part of the Indigenous Tree Ordinance when trimming an oak tree more than eight inches or when a tree needs to be removed. De Lamare said fungus is visible on some of the trees and that his son has come to clean the ivy around some of the trees that are in the nearby public land.

Both he and Lipscomb said they love the oak trees. They offer shade and increase their property value; however, they still have concerns about what to do with dead and invasive trees that threaten their homes.

“I want to see a reasonable working relationship with the city,” De Lamare said.

Since the 1980s, the City of Glendale has had an Indigenous Tree Ordinance. This was put into place after developers cut and destroyed several oak trees without consequence. The ordinance was put into place to protect the oaks.

Dan Hardgrove, deputy director of Glendale Public Works, said the purpose of the ordinance is not to be a blockade for residents who want or need to respond to an oak tree issue, but to give an “intermediate step” so they can take time to see what work needs to be done. It is targeted more to those who either do not like oaks or, from some reason other than the health of the tree or the safety of the residents, want to destroy the trees.

Hardgrove has heard stories of residents being told by arborists they cannot take care of trees that are threatening home foundations or “are not dead enough.”

“We want to dispel these stories,” he said.

He added that Public Works wants to work with the homeowners and arborists who are hired by the residents. Each tree permit is looked at individually and if an arborist tells the homeowner something like, “The tree isn’t dead enough,” the homeowner should call Public Works.

The last major revision to the ordinance was in December 2010.

“One of the key things at the last revision to the ordinance was to avoid [the permit process] from being too cumbersome for routine pruning of the indigenous tree without a permit,” Hardgrove said.

Trees can be routinely trimmed by eight inches without a permit, but Hardgrove advised that residents contact Public Works to make certain they do not require a permit and also to let the office know there will be trimming.

“We get calls [from residents] when chainsaws are heard and [oak trees are] being trimmed without a permit,” he said.

Hardgrove added if a resident is concerned about trees on their property they can call Public Works, which will help them with the permitting process, and work with the arborist the homeowner hires at the resident’s expense.

The tree that fell on El Lado Drive was not on private property; last week city officials stated it appeared to be on the city’s property but Hardgrove said ownership is still being investigated.

Who is responsible for what trees is another concern of residents. It does not seem easy to determine whether the trees not on a resident’s property in areas like Glenwood Oaks are the property of Los Angeles County, Glendale or outside private entities. Therefore, it is difficult for residents to determine who to call when those dry, possibly dead, indigenous trees are leaning over their property or have become a fire threat.

Hardgrove said the fire code can present an exception to the ordinance if the fire dept. feels there is a danger. The problem, as many of the neighbors have found, is how do they determine who owns what trees and who do they call.

Again Hardgrove advised homeowners to contact Public Works at (818) 548-3950.

Regarding monitoring trees that are not on private property, Hardgrove said that too depended on the location. He added that trees are usually left to grow, die, and recycle on their own; however, that theory of leaving it to Mother Nature may not be an option as the drought takes its toll on local trees.

Next week, CVW will look at the hot topic among arborists and scientists of how deeply the drought has affected California trees and what can be done.

  Mary Okeefe, Rachelle MILLER