Photo Courtesy: City of Diamond Bar

By Raymond Mendoza

Diamond Bar – On Tues., Mar. 3, the hot topic of the night at the Diamond Bar City Council meeting was trees.  Diamond Bar residents came out in droves to fight for the preservation of several trees that they argued represented the beauty of the City.

The evening’s public comment section was filled with residents asking for City officials to consider different plans concerning several trees on streets between Diamond Bar Blvd. and Stonepine Drive for the Morning Canyon Rehabilitation Project.

The City, with the help of an arborist, noted that the large pine trees had grown out of control and have caused damage to the street’s asphalt and the sidewalk area. Pictures shown at the meeting illustrated that even with ongoing trimming and cutting of roots, the trees in the area were causing immense damage that could lead unsafe roadways and walking areas.

Attending residents did not give up their cause, stating that routine tree maintenance could make the streets safe again. Council member Nancy Herrera disagreed with some of the residents, citing past litigations that had been brought against the City for damages caused by unsafe roads as a result of tree root growth. She also mentioned the possibility of the tree roots damaging the streets enough to cause sinkholes. Herrera said the possibility of these safety hazards were a most compelling argument since personal safety is more important than trees.

“Lives and safety are paramount over trees,” Herrera said to the meeting attendees.

Mayor Steve Tye and the other members of the Council instead fell back to compromising on the plans. Tye made an analogy that removing the trees would be akin to cutting off a portion of one’s leg after finding a minor infection localized on a toe.

Tye’s mode of thinking was to instead reject all current bids for the rehabilitation project and bring the plans back to City officials for re-evaluation before a final approval could be given. His motion was approved 4-1 (with Herrera dissenting) and residents cheered at the possibility of keeping some of their neighborhood’s trees intact.

During the meeting, the City’s schedule of future events were announced for the Mar.10 Planning Commission meeting, the March 12 Traffic and Transportation Commission meeting, and the March 17 City Council meeting.

The Council also approved all items on the Consent Calendar concerning the minutes for the Feb. 17 Council and Dec.9 Planning Commission meetings, as well as ratification of a check dated Feb. 12 through Feb. 25 totaling $716,891.89, and the Treasurer’s statement for January 2015.

The Council then approved the only item on its consideration calendar, which was for the re-appointment all of its commissioners.

Following the final item’s approval, the Council adjourned with plans to meet on Mar. 17 at 7 p.m., in the Windmill Community Room, at 21810 Copley Drive.