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<br /> thought they were beautiful and unique.....He now leans to the side of removing them <br /> either at once or graduaIly....only so that the money it would take to go into the planters, <br /> renewing the planters,....only so that money can create an opportunity to redesign the areas <br /> where the planters are, so that more money could be put into benches and more attractive <br /> artifacts, more attractive street furniture, ....and eventually into lighting." <br /> Mayor Hartnett called upon those people in the audience who wished to speak to this <br /> Issue: <br /> Wendy Fleming, 185 Woodsworth Avenue, Redwood City, spoke about the historical <br /> feeling the mature, stately, leafy trees bring to the City, and recommended that gradual <br /> removal and replanting be done only if necessary. <br /> Enid Brock, 1837 Brewster, Redwood City, also spoke about historical preservation and <br /> how beautiful the mature, leafy trees in the downtown area were. Mrs. Brock said she <br /> would hate to see marginal money used for trash cans. She said trees are a historical <br /> investment and Redwood City should shy away from the "design dujour" concept. <br /> Don Saye, 2021 Broadway, Redwood City, spoke in favor of the mature, leafy trees which <br /> make the downtown unique, and said that some planters were salvageable. He said there <br /> were 9 broken planters that would have to be replaced along with their trees. Mr. Saye <br /> urged the Council to retain as many of the mature trees as possible. <br /> In response to Council questions, City Arborist Gordon Mann, said there were 17 trees <br /> and planter boxes which were replaced and are in good shape, and 28 remaining in the <br /> Maltese Cross planter boxes that need attention. All the trees, except 4-5 possibly, either <br /> in the ground or in planter boxes should survive the sidewalk replacement project. <br /> Arborist Mann said similar trees in other parts of the City are long-lived, and the <br /> downtown trees could be expected to continue to grow within the amount of space <br /> provided. In 10 to 20 years some replacement would have to take place because they <br /> would simply become too big. They would be replaced with available trees, which if <br /> replacement was done now would be between 13' and 18' tall and 6' and 10' in crown <br /> spread, similar to Main Street. Arborist Mann added that the amount of utilities in the <br /> ground would affect what kind and how many trees could be put into the ground. <br /> Councilman Ruskin added that he and Arborist Mann drove the area to see the impact of <br /> the old, leafy trees on Broadway and the younger, smaller ones on Main, which do not <br /> offer nearly as much shade as those on Broadway. <br /> In response to Council questions, Arborist Mann explained that the trees on Broadway <br /> are the highest maintained trees in the City and are being kept artificially small, and the <br /> City crews "manicure" the trees to keep them at this size. However, they will continue to <br /> grow, and at some point the root mass will force the replacement of the impacted trees. <br /> Arborist Mann said that between 5 and 20 years the trees will have to be replaced, because <br /> "we can't keep using bigger and bigger planters.....We've already gotten five years out of <br /> MINUTE BOOK NO. 54 Regular Meeting Minutes <br /> Page No. 234 May 13, 1996 <br /> Page 11 <br />