Developer’s Plan to Fell 69 Oak Trees Draws Protest

Calabasas Highlands residents are protesting a developer’s plan to cut down 69 oak trees to make way for a tract of million-dollar homes.

The residents of the mountain community at the southwestern corner of the San Fernando Valley said Monday they are not opposed to the sprawling 14-home development but are worried that an overeager developer may spoil the area by ignoring environmental concerns.

“We’re not opposed to the housing development, just to the removal of this amount of trees,” said Wendy Peddicord, one of several residents trying to delay development of the 14.3-acre site at Mulholland Highway and Dry Canyon-Cold Creek Road until another environmental impact study can be done.

Residents said they do not believe the results of an environmental impact study commissioned by the project’s developer, listed in county records as Cyrous Sacket of Woodland Hills. That report determined that the area would not be harmed if the project proceeds.

Skeptical of Report

“I think it is illegal,” resident Bob Benson said of the proposal to cut down the trees. “The report announces that they will cut down 69 oak trees, do massive amounts of grading and widening of the streets . . . and then they come to the conclusion that there will be no environmental impact.”

The residents plan to voice their complaints at a public hearing before a Los Angeles County hearing officer this morning in downtown Los Angeles. Peddicord said homeowners want the developer to “take another look at the project and see if they can’t save more of those trees.”

Plans for the development call for the removal of 69 of the 100 oak trees on the site so existing roads can be widened and the hilly meadow can be leveled for building.

Although county records list Sacket as the project’s subdivider, he said Monday he is no longer involved in the project and refused to give the name of the subdivider. The residents said all they know is that Sacket is listed as the developer.

County regulations for cutting down oaks are strict. Removal of any oak with a trunk more than 8 inches in diameter requires a permit, said Herb Spitzer of the county Fire Department’s Forestry Division.

The regulations also require that for every oak tree cut down, two must be planted and maintained for 2 years. Benson called the protection a “false promise” because he said after 2 years the trees might die of neglect.

“I don’t think the 2-to-1 replacement means a damn thing,” he said.

Robert Kameoka, listed in county records as the project’s engineer, said developers will follow county regulations if the removal is approved.

Kameoka acknowledged there is a new developer, but also refused to disclose the developer’s name.