Letter: City’s tree-trimming was a hatchet job

Since 1977 Burbank has been recognized as a “Tree City U.S.A” by the National Arbor Day Foundation. I believe the city no longer deserves that title after the kind of tree trimming work done around Burbank in recent years. Anyone driving down Magnolia Boulevard in the Magnolia Park area in the last few weeks can see the low quality of work from the Forestry Services section of the Burbank Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department.

Any arborist will tell you that when pruning you should never “top” a tree or trim more that 25% of the tree’s crown unless absolutely necessary. Doing so endangers the very life of the tree. Unfortunately that is exactly what the city of Burbank has done to each tree along Magnolia, just as they have done in other areas of the city recently. This excessive trimming wasn’t done to keep the trees away from power lines as there are no power lines on that section of Magnolia, nor did the tree limbs seem to be dangerous or have branches too low for traffic. So why leave an unsightly mess of a tree-lined street and endanger the trees’ life span?

I encourage all residents who feel the same to write to the Burbank City Council (as I will be) and let them know that we enjoy the tree-lined streets of this “Tree City U.S.A” and would like the Forestry Services to be educated on how to properly prune a tree and use their budget in other areas.

Edward Frontenac
Burbank