Presentation

Here's a PDF of the presentation we reviewed last night.

Palm Update and Meeting

Palm Update

It’s been a while, in fact a year, since the last update to this blog, but much has been happening behind the scenes.

In April 2010, Mayor Sue Digre announced the formation of the Vallemar Tree Tree Working Group. This group consisted of concerned residents of Vallemar, representatives from Parks, Beaches & Recreation commission, representatives from PG&E, and of course, members of public works from the City of Pacifica. Although specific residents are appointed to the group, the meetings have been open to the general public. The members of the original Vallemar Tree Working Group were myself, Jeff Moroso, Ken Miles, Jody Webster, and Amy Mayo. Amy eventually stepped down and Patti Wylie joined.

While the public seemed generally to support saving the trees, there were some people objecting to the fact that the trees are non-native, as evidenced by the defacement on this hand written protest sign. Click on the images and you can see the vandalism and a response. Clearly there were different opinions out there. Even so, no members of the public attended the meetings.


The first meeting occurred in June 2010. Kathy Lavezzo, PG&E account executive responsible for Pacifica attended, as did Joel Smith, the PG&E forester. The session consisted mostly of Vallemar residents posing many questions to PG&E about what solutions were possible, how much they cost, and so on. There were many questions about undergrounding utility lines, since this would be the best long term solution.

A second meeting occurred in July. In addition to Kathy Lavezzo and Joel Smith, from PG&E we also had Papia Gambelin And Ashlie Simpson of Government relations as well as Sindy Mikkelson, PG&E’s Rule 20 expert and program manager. Kathy and Joel spent a lot of time researching solutions and what we all concluded is that the best long term option would be to get the electrical lines underground. It would be a permanent solution that would save trees and should provide significant boost to property values. Most of the other solutions were seen as stop-gap measures, costing at least in the tens of thousands, each with serious disadvantages.

PG&E gave us contact with ARB Inc., an infrastructure construction company that, among other things, places utilities underground. Aren Clark and I were able to meet with Tim Bloodgood from ARB at the end of August. He came out to Vallemar to survey the area. Sindy Mikkelson also joined us. We walked the streets, reviewed a few key intersections, and discussed constraints. One big one is the fact that Calera Creek splits Reina Del Mar beyond the “Y”. That would require running underground utilities on both sides of the creek. It wasn’t until early October that ARB was able to provide us with estimates for undergrounding, but under the circumstances (we weren’t paying for the estimate), it was great that they provided us with such helpful information.

PG&E also provided us with a contact, Bob Branz, who could help us work with bond issuers and setting up of an assessment district. As the former engineer to the city of Belvedere, Branz had a lot of experience in setting up assessment districts and working with PG&E. Unfortunately for us, he wanted a substantial retainer, and so we felt it was best to talk with him after we had a chance to assess the interest level from the community. At that point, we were approaching the Thanksgiving/ Christmas holiday season, and so we made plans to target a public meeting in the early part of 2011.

So not exactly early 2011, but here we are. I’ve been trying to organize a meeting to share with our neighborhood the results of our work last year. Here's a rough video to show what we could have if the wires go underground-- contrasted with what we actually tolerate. Yes, there really are that many wires. Take a look up, the next time you're out there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kdc677IBNAk


Please join me with the Vallemar Conservators and Vallemar Tree Working Group on May 5, 7 pm at the Vallemar School, Multipurpose room. We will review our options and show what it is that we face, if we don’t act.

Today, PG&E will have to keep trimming the palms. While this doesn't immediately kill the trees, it's not great for the trees to be losing half or more of it's youngest, healthiest fronds. Eventually the trees will die prematurely.



So the trimming cannot last. Ultimately, we will be faced with two choices. We can lose the wires or we can lose the trees. Please, take a good look at this.

PG&E withdraws application to remove palm trees

For now, PG&E has officially withdrawn their request to remove three Canary Island Date Palms along Reina Del Mar Ave. What this means is that for the next 6 months, the power company may perform extra trimming to keep the high voltage lines clear of the palm fronds. The hope is that this extra time will allow all the parties involved to agree on a reasonable solution in the short term as well as finding a plan to underground the wires for the long term.

The letter specifically details the time should be used "to raise the funds necessary for pole relocation or rearrangement pursuant to Electric Rule 15..." Hopefully PG&E will help us understand what exactly that means.

In other news, Vallemar Conservators will meet tomorrow at 9 am for a creek clean up and tree planting. We'll at starting at Bier's Grove (near Amopola, Berendos & Calaveras)

Kids 4 Change haul in almost $1700

It was a lot of work, but between the combination of the Palm Sunday rally and bake sale, and the book drive yesterday, Kids 4 Change was able to raise a total of $1691. That's not too bad for a few weeks of effort, but given that it's children aged 5 to 8, this is really great.

It's still only a small fraction of the price that PG&E quoted for any of the interim solutions to save the most at-risk palm trees. The Vallemar Conservators have raised a little over $7000. (Jeff or our sponsor PEF would know the exact amount).

I'm really hoping that PG&E will come through, and pay to raise lines or relocate them, to mitigate the immediate hazard. Then we could apply the funds we've raised on trees and on a long term solution of getting these lines underground.

The next step will be to focus on negotiations with a committee consisting of PG&E representatives, City officials, and designated residents of Vallemar.

Book Drive on Saturday

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/15/DDBS1CTGFR.DTL

Leah Garchik wrote in the

Residents of Vallemar, a district of Pacifica, are fighting with PG&E about the fate of four 100-year-old palm trees. The utility company wants to cut them down because they are reaching power lines. The residents think the trees are treasures and that cutting them down would ruin their neighborhood (and destroy the homes of owls who live in the trees).

Meanwhile neighborhood children in Kids 4 Change have joined in the campaign. Some of those kids spoke at a rally March 28, and this week they've been organizing books to sell to benefit their cause. (The installation of taller utility poles, which would put greater distance between the trees and the electricity, would be costly; PG&E estimates more than $40,000; the group takes issue with the figure.)

Meanwhile, the kids have collected two truckloads of books, to be sold at $1 each. The sale is Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 119 Berendos Ave. in Pacifica.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/15/DDBS1CTGFR.DTL#ixzz0lJVsNiDN

Tree trimming

Tuesday morning (4/13/2010), Asplundh, a PG&E sub-contractor came to trim two palms trees, 771 Reina Del Mar and 835 Reina Del Mar. Interestingly, two of the original trees identified for removal were not immediately at risk. We could have lost the two palms on Reina Del Mar, near Ramona, even though they were not even an imminent risk. I want to thank Joel Smith (PG&E) and Lori Cuesta (WECI) for double checking the trees and performing what limited trimming they needed to, in order to maintain a safe clearance.

Pictured below is a "hot stick" used to gauge the distance from the 12K volt primary lines and the crown of the tree.

My Latest Email Volley

I continue to ask PG&E to pay to relocate the wires, but I haven't heard back in a few days. It's been hard not to think about PG&E lately, particularly since the power went out yesterday because of the storm. I was in another neighborhood of Pacifica (not Vallemar) when I saw two PG&E trucks parked across from one another.

Anyway, this was the last email I sent to Nicole and her co-workers:


Hi Nicole,
Hope you had a great weekend!

Over the weekend, I saw the local CBS coverage of our situation in Pacifica, and when I heard Joe discussing the short-term options, I had a thought. Why not use shareholder monies to fix the situation? As I have stated previously, this is a problem created by PG&E when it placed utility lines directly above trees. The corporation has a lot of discretion with the use of it's funds, and this is a great opportunity to make good on the "commitment to communities".
http://www.pgecorp.com/corp_responsibility/communities/

Given the tens of millions of dollars PG&E is spending in order to provide taxpayers with a right to vote, relocating a few utility lines would be a cheap way to buy the company some good press. Let me know how we can get the corporation to buy into this idea and if there is anyone we should contact in the holding company. Thanks!

Alp

CBS5 covering the Vallemar palms

Video at CBS website

I got word on Thursday that two trees will need some trimming; the tree at 847 Reina Del mar and the tree at 771 Reina Del Mar. The folks at PG&E Vegetation Management have been really cooperative. The forester requested for "reasonable trimming, such that the health of the trees will not be negatively affected" (btw, I did not add the emphasis, that's from PG&E).

It will take place on Tuesday, April 13. They typically sub-contract the trimming out to Asplundh. Just FYI, this should be minimal trimming that buys about 6 more months before the trees are at risk again.

Continued talks with PG&E

Nicole Yelich currently has the distinction of being the first point of contact for PG&E with regard to our Canary Island Palm tree predicament. We had a good talk today and I'm sure we'll be talking over the next several months. There are plenty of things we can agree on, but for now, I think there are two key points on which we disagree.

1. My argument is that the trees were there first, so PG&E messed up when it placed utility lines directly above these trees (and in some cases, directly next to the trees). Nicole suggested the trees came after the utility lines. She's going to provide documentation showing that the utility lines were constructed in 1929. This is considerably earlier than I would have guessed, but still over 20 years after the first trees were planted. We've posted a number of photos showing what the trees looked like in the early part of the last century. One of my favorites is this image showing the palm trees shortly after they were planted, sometime between 1906 and 1910. From my research, it appears these trees grow about 6 inches per year. It's because they grow so slowly that they can command such a premium for landscaping projects. Anyway, given that math, our trees are about 50 feet high, so that means 100 years, which just about matches this photo.
   
   
2. The second issue requires that we establish the trees existed before the high voltage lines were constructed. If in fact PG&E was negligent in the location of these poles, it should be their responsibility to relocate the poles. I asked Nicole what would it take for PG&E to pay for the relocation of these utility lines. Her response was PG&E cannot, because CPUC regulation forbids them from using ratepayer funds for such purposes. Erin Parks, the previous forester, had also stated this, so the rationale is certainly consistent. I just find it difficult to believe, given that PG&E is able to use the very same funds for the removal of trees. The funds are meant to be used to maintain the infrastructure. I've asked to see the exact rule or regulation, and Nicole offered to research this and send me a copy. If it turns out PG&E is right about this, I won't be happy, but at least we can have a common understanding.

There's also the matter of proposition 16, which for the most part, I've been keeping out of the discussion. But I think that may be an important philosophical point. If PG&E really doesn't want the electorate to get into the electric power business, then the company should maintain the infrastructure without destroying public property. If they can't, then it only encourages the public to want to take it over. Here's an excerpt of an email I wrote to a number of people at PG&E on Wednesday; it's what basically precipitated the discussion with Nicole Yelich:

I recognize that PG&E does not want to be in the business of removing trees and that the only reason the company is considering this course of action is because it is the least expensive way to fulfill its regulatory and public safety obligations. I trust that PG&E takes these obligations seriously, since as a public utility, it exists to serve the public good. However, removing healthy heritage trees that have been an unmistakable fixture in our community for over a century, trees as old as the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, harms the public good. Fortunately, PG&E can mitigate the fire and electrocution hazard posed in this situation without damage to public or private property by simply relocating the primary high voltage wires.

I understand that PG&E must comply with a number of CPUC rules and regulations for minimum vegetation clearance. PG&E failed in its duty to properly maintain its electric infrastructure when it placed utility poles in locations that violate its own clearance requirements, creating the problem we have today. This is a serious breach of the company's obligations. In order to comply with CPUC regulation, the company attempted to remove heritage trees; 100+ year old trees that would each cost $25,000 to replace. As an alternative to removing the trees, PG&E is asking the community to pay to relocate utility lines-- in effect, that is asking the residents of Vallemar to pay to remedy PG&E's past mistakes.

The residents of Vallemar should not be paying to maintain power lines. We do not want to be in the utility business, and given how hard PG&E is working on proposition 16, I assume that PG&E does not want Pacifica getting in the electric utility business either. I do hope that PG&E will recognize its responsibilities not only to shareholders, but also to the community in Pacifica, by either relocating utility poles or raising affected primary lines. I hope I am accurate in my interpretation, and we are in the process of connecting with Public Utilities Commission for further clarification. Perhaps the CPUC can offer an alternative that we have not considered.

Talking to PG&E

Joel Smith is the new forester for the peninsula at PG&E. He was kind enough to spend an hour+ on Saturday reviewing the palm trees with myself, Jeff Moroso, and Ken Miles. We took a close look at all 11 palm trees and discussed a number of issues and mitigating options. I was pleasantly surprised by the change in tone from PG&E in recent weeks. It sounds like Joel and his boss Micah Brosnan are both new, and they are both prepared to try a different approach.

For one thing, Joel was able to get a cost estimate for relocating the wires without requiring us to pay $3000 up front. This is rather unorthodox, and as a result we don't have some details on why the costs are so high for relocating the poles at 835. Still, I appreciate what he's trying to do. Most folks from the utility company haven't been nearly as cooperative.

What ultimately came out of our discussion was a series of questions:

• How high are the current utility poles? Clearly they are not all the same height; there's a utility pole at about 571 Reina Del Mar which looks considerably higher. The trees only grow 50-60 feet high.
  
  
• How far away is each tree from the primary lines? We need 10 feet of clearance from the highest wires (12k Volts). PG&E subcontracts out that risk determination to WECI (Western Environmental Consultants). So that we could have an current measure, Joel requested an inspection (and WECI showed up this morning). It seems that a couple of trees will need some minimum trimming, but don't have to be removed today. Lori Cuesta was the field supervisor inspecting the trees today, and she spoke with me for a good half hour or so. She believes that some minimum trimming can buy us at least 6 months. The trimming will cut the offending fronds at the mid point (so it looks ugly, but certainly shouldn't be fatal). The actual trimming of the trees goes to yet another sub-contractor, Asplundh, who will most likely be out here next week (April 12- 16).
  
  
• How fast do the trees grow? Well, from some limited Internet research, I found one article in the Wall Street Journal of all places, quoting Valley Crest experts that the tress grow about 6 inches a year. Given our cool climate, our trees may grow even slower than that. In any case, we can raise the poles 10 feet, which would give us almost 20 years (assuming the poles are only at 50 feet today.) Given that the trees are about 100 years old and they are reaching the height of the poles, it would stand to reason that the poles are 50 feet, and the trees grow 6 inches per year.
  
  
• So what does it take to raise the poles? As it turns out, Amy Mayo and her husband Stefan ran into an old friend who grew up with Stefan in Pacifica. This friend (I'll leave his name out for now) currently works for PG&E as a lineman and also lives in Vallemar. He explained that raising the poles is a relatively trivial matter. Aside from shutting off the power, it would take 4 men 4 hours to raise a pole. The guy offered to volunteer his time to save these trees and offered to try and find a few other volunteers. With a few trained volunteers, we may be able to raise enough poles to buy us enough time until we are able to get the wires underground.

So if we can get the wires raised on 10 or so poles, we should be able to buy us enough time to put together a real plan to get these wires underground, once and for all. But getting several dozen line certified volunteers is probably not realistic. This is where I'm hoping PG&E will step in to help. It is of course a problem that was created by PG&E decades ago, when the utility poles were located where they were. It is my hope that this community's efforts to raise awareness on this issue will encourage the management at PG&E to offer to pay for the line raising (or pole relocation).

I would even go so far as to argue that it would benefit PG&E both financially and aid in building long term good will with our community. Rather than spending millions of dollars on subverting laws through ballot measures such as proposition 16, PG&E would be better served helping communities like ours set up an electric infrastructure that is much more sustainable. The utility must spend significant amounts of money, (and at union/ overtime rates) every year during our severe winter storms to maintain this third-world power infrastructure.

Of course, the residents would benefit from the natural beauty from wires being under ground, the increase in property values, and the reduction in service interruption (no more outages during storms). And the city too would benefit, since it would be able to boast an even more beautiful neighborhood, and the added property values would translate into increased tax revenue.

Everyone wins if we could get these wires underground. We just need some help with the cost estimates and moving the wires on the first few trees.

We really need to get through to this guy -->> You could try emailing him, but I think we need something a little more face to face. Thoughts?

Saving Palm Trees on Palm Sunday

View a video of our event on YouTube

A perfect street

A PERFECT STREET in which to live is Reina Del Mar in the Vallemar section of Pacifica. The roadway is surrounded with Palm trees and the weather is ideal. Children play in the street without being in danger of cars...

Click on the image below to see the whole scan from Coastside Chronicle