Trees on Burchett Street butchered

My husband and I bought our home on Burchett Street 31 years ago, a tree-lined street over which the tree limbs met, forming a beautiful canopy.

Over the years, many of the trees suffered major losses due to the Santa Ana winds and disease. One by one, they were taken down. We lost ours to an infestation of ants, but the city replaced our tree and many others. During the past 10 years, our little California oak grew from a scrubby twig to the most beautiful on the block. Crews from the city have carefully pruned our tree so that city trucks can pick up garbage and sweep the street. On April 4 that all ended.

We arrived home on April 3 to find temporary no-parking notices [indicating] that the trees would be trimmed by a contractor. The contractor began very early the next morning. By the time I looked out our front window, our beautiful tree had been butchered. I looked down the block and saw the complete deforestation of our block. These contractors have left nothing but trunks, bare branches with little foliage on the top. I doubt we will even be alive to see them grow enough to provide shade.

I spoke with a supervisor. I was given all the “rules” of how low any branches can be, both lawn-side and street-side. These idiots went far beyond any of those measurements.

I can now stand on my front lawn and see all the way down the street east across Concord with nothing but trunks in my view. My heart is sick. How could this city ruin something so beautiful? We plan on contacting the county Assessor’s Office to reassess our property’s value. So there, idiots in Glendale, take that out of your General Fund.

Bonnie Hays
Glendale