OKIE IS BEING REMOVED Why won’t the City of Los Altos trim and mitigate instead? Why not even try? Because they know it will then be of low risk, just like a new tree. What is their incentive to remove it rather than testing?
Did you know the city has a contract with West Coast Arborist? The same company that did the assessment will remove the tree. Isn’t that a conflict of interest? SaveOakie.org
ALL THAT IS LEFT TO DO IS FOR YOU TO CONTACT CITY COUNCIL
The hazard assessment relies solely on visual inspection, disregarding the actual condition of the wood. The City’s own first arborist documented decay in May and explicitly recommended a Level 3 Advanced Risk Assessment using Resistograph drilling and sonic tomography — instrument-based testing that measures the remaining sound wood — before any pruning or removal decision was made. However, that specific testing has never been conducted. The July report, while also using the term “Level 3,” was an aerial visual inspection, not the instrumented decay-testing that was called for. Visual inspection can identify defects, but it cannot reliably quantify the remaining wood strength — which is precisely why the City’s own arborist requested the more rigorous test in the first place. Until that testing is performed, THE CITY LACKS CONCRETE EVIDENCE TO DETERMINE IF THE TREE POSES A HAZARD that is being claimed.