This meeting was a public hearing regarding the proposed removal of five mature trees at 249, 255, 261, and 265 Main Street to facilitate sidewalk reconstruction and ADA compliance. The hearing included presentations from city staff, engineering consultants, and a landscape architect, as well as public testimony from a concerned citizen.
That are posted to be removed at 249, 249, 255, 261, and 265 main. As a tree one, my responsibility is to evaluate the condition safety and future the trees are under consideration and to make sure the public has the opportunity to be heard, Mr. Chang. You are more than welcome to speak in from here on out anything that you would like to go through. Okay. So first of all, like the trees is there is all mature, and it's all like it's full grown, and it's uh it's no there's no damage. Most of the trees not like uh dead or leaning against one way or another, it's it doesn't pose that much of damage. So it provides shades to the mature trees, like it provides shades, it's it's uh it's a provider shades and uh more uh aesthetic value to the downtown as opposed to the new trees. So uh so that's uh there's the environmental benefit of the keeping the existing mature trees there. So that's one thing, and there's another is uh aesthetic value of the being a mature tree uh for the downtown whole main street area. So it's instead like all the small small nettle trees, uh like I saw along the part that's already planted, it's like a very small, and it takes years, like decades probably like 10, 20 years, 30 years to become like this, the tree of the existing size. So uh so that's uh it takes a long time for this small like a new tree to grow to become like the this as the existing ones. Um so that's not another thing, and uh you'll like it provide like a better image for the downtown, I believe, for the not to get the mature trees to be removed. I mean, I mean talk about for the all the trees in general, not only the specific one the address provided. So that's uh yeah, it will it will draw more people like uh as being about all these existing trees there. I think uh the city wouldn't want like an image of uh like this very barren landscape along Main Street with uh new small trees as a as a downtown. So it has more character, it brings more character to the to the city to the downtown, like uh have these uh existing trees there. Um yeah, these are some of the like beside that in the it's uh and uh sometimes you have to uh I see some of the proposal like a paper the uh like uh the mulch area. It's uh we can like for my point of view, it's a you we can like leave it as uh existing with the mulches because it provides much of for the kind of uh main street once it rains, it's all a lot of times uh flooded, it's uh better for the flow control, I believe. So my my view is like if uh we can leave the trees as the existing tree without remove it. We can like enlarge the pit and uh we do the sidewalk along the main street, like so we can enlarge it so we don't have to worry about uh uh upheaving on the sidewalk and the country area. So I mean, that's my one of them. My um suggestion proposal if we want to keep the existing trees. You guys want to uh chime in with your yeah, let me start. Um civil engineer, my name is I'm with Martinez Couch and Associates, and I did design this entire main street. So um let's go quick. I prepare some slides to look over. Um if you look at the slide currently on screen, the green squares that's for existing trees compare what is coming with. And now I'll come back later to the slide. Let's go next slide. So existing sidewalk conditions and uh project need. So last rehabilitation of existing sidewalk was done in 1991. That's where those new sidewalks were um uh uh uh uh renovated, and those trees that you have now, they were planted. It's been about 35 years since that. So city has secured funding to reconstruct existing sidewalks to provide continuous ProVag and ADA compliance for predestined route. ADA stays for American with Disability Act and ProVague, it stays for public right-of-way accessibility guidelines. So existing sidewalks constructed as I mentioned before, 35 years ago, and exhibit is vertical displacement, uneven sidewalks panels, upheaving, cracking, localized ups and downs, dips, and walking surface, irregular running cross slopes, deteriorating pavement, and uniform surface locations where do not provide required accessibility characteristics. So engineering engineering objective. Reconstruct the sidewalks to establish consistent finish grade, pro vag ADA compliant slopes, and durable payment structures via land dressing, existing tree root and sidewalk complex. And I get to that later. So let's take a look at the trees and pictures. If you look at this tree, at the base of the tree, you see how asphalt is heaving. Then if you look at the sidewalks, there are some areas like a darker and some areas lighter. Where you see darker, that's a low point that all dirt collects, and where it's higher, that's where roots are pushing the tree. Tree roots pushing the sidewalk, sorry. So that creates dangerous and challenge to people with disabilities, people who have uh vision problems, who has wheelchair who have walkers, not just you and me who are healthy. Um those people have to access this is this facility, and especially people who are in pairvision. So the tree is kind of in the middle of the sidewalk. Um you have all kinds sometimes um uh like a commercial things or something, the tree uh the uh store uh owners or restaurant owners placing against the wall, and then you have a tree heaving. So for those people in pair version or with wheelchair or walker or elderly with cane, it's kind of very hard to navigate.