Since the November meeting where the residents of Carmel Valley became aware of SDG&E’s plans to deforest 75 trees on the west side of Carmel Mission Park, we want to thank Fox 5 News, CBS News, the Del Mar Times and Carmel Valley News, who have all covered this story. I’ve met with reporters, concerned citizens and troubled residents, who’s #1 question to me is always the same, “Why?” SDG&E representatives still have not replied back to me directly, despite hundreds of attempts to contact them. However, they did reply to the news, letting some outlets know that they are now working on a “vegetation management plan”, without giving specifics as to what that means. SDG&E still maintains that this drastic measure of cutting down almost 100 trees, including endangered Torrey Pines, is for public safety, should a healthy tree for some reason fall onto a power line, despite the fact that these trees are mature and healthy, and mature, healthy trees don’t fall. They are bound through their root structure, and not even one branch on one tree came down during the recent storms we’ve had, which were some of the highest on record. What we’ve discovered is that there is no good reason to take this action. This sledgehammer to nail attack doesn’t even address the problem, which is the power lines. In fact, removing these trees is a clear and imminent threat all the way down the west side of the park, as it exposes all of those houses – indeed, the entire neighborhood on that side – in the case of fires, which can start for all kinds of reasons (we just had a house fire in the neighborhood this week.) I still have many questions that have been left unaddressed: there is no tree replacement plan, as SDG&E has claimed. There is no effort to work with the community, despite asking for our input. There is no effort to implement any solutions we’ve suggested, such as anchoring the trees so that they cannot fall, or manicuring top branches from hitting power lines as necessary. Also left unaddressed is the fact that part of our neighborhood already has underground lines (that’s why we don’t have powerlines on our blocks), making these powerlines unnecessary to begin with. The next step will be for the community to show up at the meeting on January 25th, held at 7 p.m. at the Carmel Valley Library. There you can voice your opinion and ask questions, as well as help us propose solutions. I want to thank you all for getting involved, for letting the city and the power company know how you feel, and for asking questions, which is your right. Truly hope to see you at the January meeting. Happy New Year – let’s keep our neighborhood beautiful! Read the latest articles here: http://www.delmartimes.net/carmel-valley/sd-cm-nc-carmelmission-trees-20171220-story.html http://www.cbs8.com/story/37150358/carmel-valley-residents-fighting-to-save-park-trees