County Atones for Felling of Tree With 17-Foot Ash

Seeking to turn over a new leaf, Los Angeles County officials Wednesday replaced a tree they mistakenly chopped down two weeks ago at a Calabasas home.

County workers bypassed usual procedure and purchased a large Modesto ash to take the place of the tree they hacked down in front of Donald Wyman’s home. They also called in a tree expert to speed the new tree’s growth so it will quickly catch up with the 20-year-old ash trees that line Parkmor Road.

The officials also vowed to be more careful when they set out to remove trees that are causing root damage to public sidewalks. The county cuts down about 400 such trees a year.

Misread Address

Workers said they misread the address on their work order when they were sent to the home of Wyman’s next-door neighbor on July 22 to remove a pair of trees that were causing a sidewalk to buckle. Although the neighbor tried to alert them to their mistake, workmen cut Wyman’s 30-foot tree into little pieces.

Wyman was angered by the loss, and was further dismayed when he learned that a replacement tree provided by the county likely would be a sapling that would take years to grow into a shade tree.

Al Kelm, district maintenance engineer for the county’s Public Works Department, said his office hunted for the 17-foot-tall tree that finally was planted. Its retail value is about $450.

‘Correcting Mistake’

“It was a way of correcting our mistake,” Kelm said as the new tree was lowered into the ground. “It was embarrassing.”

Kelm said an experimental plastic collar designed to force roots to grow downward was buried around Wyman’s new tree. Kelm said he hopes the device will prevent the new tree from buckling pavement and keep it from ever facing street maintenance crews’ saws.

Wyman called the new tree “absolutely beautiful.”

“We’ve very satisfied. We’re tickled pink to get our tree back,” he said. “We’re going to write a nice letter to the road department and thank them.”