Atherton to lose 25 percent of trees along tracks under electrification plan Atherton to lose 25 percent of trees along tracks under electrification plan (May 19, 2004)

** Caltrain project could doom heritage trees on private property.

By Andrea Gemmet
Almanac Staff Writer

If Caltrain proceeds with plans to electrify the railroad system, the town of Atherton could lose more than a quarter of the 300-plus trees that grow near the tracks, a side effect of the railroad's proposed switch from diesel trains that has only recently come to the attention of Atherton officials.

"I heard they wanted to take down 80 trees, and I was astounded," said Councilman Jim Janz, who heads the town's Caltrain Corridor Subcommittee.

An estimated 1,727 trees along the 77-miles of tracks would have to be cut down to keep them away from the electrical wires, according to a report by HortScience referenced in the draft environmental impact report for the electrification project,.

In Atherton, as in most of the other towns, most of the trees targeted for removal are growing on private property. According to the report's tree survey, most of the ones in Atherton are large, mature trees -- large enough to fall under Atherton's heritage tree protection ordinance, said Public Works Director Duncan Jones.

"Atherton is getting hit much more than any other town," Mr. Jones said.

In the area of the San Francisquito Creek, which forms the boundary between Menlo Park and Palo Alto, the survey found that between eight and 12 of the 106 trees along the tracks would need to be removed.

In Menlo Park, the 56 trees growing along the tracks are smaller, mostly semi-mature invasive species or landscape trees, and 15 to 22 are tapped for removal.

It's not clear from the report exactly how Caltrain officials would go about getting private property owners to cut down their trees, he said. If a tree's branches overhang the railroad right-of-way, Caltrain has the authority to trim it back to the property line, he said. The problem identified in the report is that most of the trees would have to be pruned so severely that the resulting damage would kill them.

If the trees are condemned under eminent domain, Caltrain would have to pay property owners for their fair market value, which could be significant, Mr. Jones said.

Kathy Hughes Anderson, Atherton's town arborist, said she met briefly with consultants from HortScience about a year ago when they were doing the tree survey. She said she was surprised to see that the report stated she didn't express opposition to the idea of tree removal.

"I thought I explained to them that Atherton residents would be very concerned about the removal of a large number of trees, although at that time I didn't realize how many trees they were talking about," Ms. Hughes Anderson said.

She said the town was never sent a copy of the tree report -- staff only learned of it when they attended one of Caltrain's public hearings on the project.

The town staff has identified one possible solution to the problem. According to Mr. Jones, train tracks in Atherton are farther apart than they need to be to accommodate passing trains. If they were relocated closer to the centerline of the right-of-way, it may be possible to avoid cutting down so many trees, he said.

Another alternative Atherton staff suggested is to postpone the electrification until grade separation projects in town are completed, and use an electrified third rail, similar to BART, instead of overhead wires and poles through the rail corridor.

The electrified third rail would solve another problem -- the visual impact of unsightly poles and wires strung along the tracks. Although the environmental report for the project states that landscaping would hide the unsightly overhead system, it clearly contradicts other findings, which say that additional landscaping may not be possible because of the amount of clearance the electrical wires would require, said Mr. Jones.

Atherton officials plan to make sure their concerns about tree loss, along with visual and other impacts that town staff said aren't adequately considered in the environmental impact report, get to Caltrain before the March 25 public comment deadline. The City Council is set to discuss the topic at its May 19 meeting. Ms. Hughes Anderson said that the Atherton Tree Committee is also drafting a comment letter, which will be considered at its May 20 meeting.

INFORMATION

** The deadline for comments on the draft environmental impact report for Caltrain's electrification project is May 25. The electrification draft EIR is available at local libraries, or online at Caltrain.com. Written comments may be e-mailed to electrification@caltrain.com or sent to Caltrain Electrification, 1250 San Carlos Ave., San Carlos, CA, 94070

** The Atherton City Council is set to discuss its comments on the project, including the impact on trees, at the Wednesday, May 19, meeting. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers, 94 Ashfield Road. Call 752-0529.

** The Atherton Tree Committee will discuss its response at the Thursday, May 20, meeting. The committee meets at 4 p.m. in the administrative offices meeting room, 91 Ashfield Road.

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