Amendments would grow more safeguards for Glendale’s many oak trees

The City Council is looking into strengthening protections for local oak trees by preventing them from being harmed by overwatering or damaged by nearby plants.

Amendments to an existing ordinance were introduced Tuesday and will return later for a final vote. They are aimed at oak trees on private properties.

There are more than 4,500 oak trees in city parkways and public parks that already have several safeguards.

There’s no official oak-tree count for private residences, but city officials said they want to be proactive in preserving those, too.

Dan Hardgrove, deputy director of public works, said the intent of the amendments is to prevent overwatering and to be mindful of planning or maintaining live plants within the protected tree zone, which is the “edge line of the canopy down to the ground.” The canopy is the upper layer of a tree’s crown, or mass of foliage and branches growing outward from the tree’s trunk.

While watering itself isn’t necessarily harmful, too much irrigation and inadequate drainage near the base of mature, native oak trees is detrimental and can cause “root rot,” a disease that’s irreversible, according to a city staff report.

Having water-guzzling plants too close to oak trees triggers the same watering issue, the report states.

Overwatering and planting detrimental plants close to oak trees are only considered unlawful when they’ve already damaged a tree. The amendments will give city staffers the discretion to determine just how badly damaged a tree is and the cause of the damage on a case-by-case basis, according to the report.

Cases will be complaint-driven, and city staff members will work with homeowners to remedy problems, said Public Works Director Roubik Golanian.

Councilman Vartan Gharpetian said the amendments will help get people to start thinking more environmentally.

“This will give residents more knowledge about what the city wants and our feeling about oak trees,” he said in a phone interview.

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Mirna Stanley, president of the Verdugo Woodlands Homeowners Assn., said her group has pushed for years for more oak-tree protection and told the council she’s glad to see something in play.

“Our intent has always been to protect the heritage trees … that have been here since before all of you were born,” she said. “It behooves us to do everything we can to protect them. Overwatering can do irreparable harm to these oaks.”

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Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com

Twitter: @ArinMikailian