Judge Clears Path for Tree
A Los Angeles judge denied a request Tuesday for a temporary restraining order to stop a developer from moving an old oak tree in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Superior Court Judge John P. Shook ruled that the request would cause “unavoidable and severe harm” to developer John Laing Homes, which owns the land on which the tree stands.
The company has agreed to relocate the oak, known as Old Glory, rather than cut it down. But activists fear the tree will not survive a move.
After the court hearing, John Quigley, an activist who sat in the tree from Nov. 1 until his court-ordered eviction Friday, asked Los Angeles County supervisors to stop the developer from transplanting the tree. But the supervisors declined to act on the request.
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