300 Trees On Bonsall To Get Trimmed Wed, City Reaches Deal With Edison
Written by 991KBU on May 6, 2019
Tree trimmers will arrive in Zuma Canyon on Wednesday … after the power company and the city have reached an agreement that severe hacking will not happen.
Over the weekend … the city released terms of an agreement that it has struck with Southern California Edison.
The power company had announced plans to cut 5 thousand trees in Malibu … Edison says state rules require it to increase the safety standard.
Not true .. say some Malibu residents … who note that the new state rules are phrased only as recommendations.
They have demanded that the city require Edison to get a city permit … and to hire an independent tree expert to make sure trees are not hacked.
The power company has agreed to Malibu’s demands to throttle back from its original … aggressive tree cutting plans.
Only routine trimming is now proposed.
SCE will show its exact tree cutting plans to both the the City and the County of Los Angeles … outside city limits … before beginning any work … so that staff can confirm that only routine vegetation maintenance work is proposed.
Malibu says it has convinced the power company cutting deeper than in previous years cut could trigger the need for the power company to take out a Coastal Development Permit …
Edison crews will start cutting on 300 trees on Bonsall Drive Wednesday …
One that work in Zuma Canyon is finished … crews will move to areas east of Malibu Canyon Road … which did not burn in the Woolsey Fire.
That’s to address concerns about fire fuel build-up in the parts of Malibu that have not experienced a wildfire in many years.
SCE’s biggest concerns are with fast-growing trees … like pine trees and palm trees
. which catch fire easily and spread fire like torches,
As part of the inventory, SCE will provide a list of fast-growing trees to the City.
Some residents are furious that Edison plans to cut or trim as many as 5 thousand trees in Malibu … just months after the fire destroyed most of the trees in the western Santa Monica Mountains.
But others say they are relieved to see fire hazards reduced.
Edison officials are scheduled to give an information-only briefing on the issue … next week at the city council meeting.
