ENCINO : Centuries-Old Oak Soon May Get the Ax

A centuries-old oak tree in the parking lot of an Encino shopping mall may soon get the ax because city attorneys have determined that leaving it would create a liability risk for the city, an aide to City Councilman Marvin Braude said Tuesday.

The Board of Public Works is scheduled to decide the fate of the tree Friday. It is one of four aging oaks that the Department of Public Works said should be removed from the Encino Town Center mall on Ventura Boulevard after inspectors found they were in “poor and declining health.”

When two of the trees were cut down in October, outraged residents protested to Braude and other officials, and they won a reprieve for a third tree in the mall’s west parking lot.

Cindy Miscikowski, chief planning deputy for Braude, said the city attorney’s office will not tell the board to remove the tree but will advise board members that it is a liability.

Assistant City Atty. Christopher Westhoff was in court Tuesday and not available for comment.

At issue is whether the tree represents a hazard. Some experts say the tree or one of its branches could fall at any time, but others maintain that it is safe and healthy.

Joe Goldwine, who lives in a condominium overlooking the tree, said the city attorney’s office is only compounding the city’s initial error of allowing the oak to be surrounded by asphalt in the first place.

“This is ridiculous,” said Goldwine, who plans to speak at the hearing Friday. “My arborist said there is nothing wrong with the tree. They just cut down trees at their will.”

The fourth tree, which experts say appears to be dying, is located across the street from the mall entrance at 17200 Ventura Blvd. and will be cut down.