#SaveNCTrees
PG&E has marked hundreds of trees for removal in downtown Nevada City and Grass Valley, including many old growth and historic trees, and those beloved by our community. This is slated to begin September 8, 2020 in NC and is already underway in GV. We appreciate that fire prevention is serious, and we certainly want to ensure the safety of our towns, yet many of these trees are healthy and not endangering our cities. The Nevada City Planning Commission is unanimously in favor of limiting the scope of PG&E's downtown tree removals and inserting local oversight into the process, and PG&E has been entirely unreceptive to negotiating.
This gofundme is to fuel the growth of organized opposition to peacefully protest, raise awareness, and legally resist PG&E's corporate arrogance and unprofessional, unsustainable planning. There are better ways to prevent fire in our towns.
Money from this fundraiser will be used for legal fees, protest supplies, professional consultants, and any additional organization creation fees.
We aim to work with PG&E to find better solutions in a timely manner; solutions that save many of our beloved and historical trees, such as those 100-year-old World War Memorial Trees in Memorial Park, and old pines in Pioneer Cemetery, trees on West Broad street, and many more.
We are lobbying for local oversight and control of PG&E decisions on city land. City Council, the City Planning Commission, and multiple certified arborists (with decades of PG&E contracting experience) are very uncomfortable with the way the company is approaching this project.
We are currently seeking volunteers as well as an umbrella NPO to take us on as a project to transparently manage these funds.
Ultimately this is larger than just Nevada City or Grass Valley. The PG&E representative plainly stated in our City Council meeting that negotiating with the town in any way sets a terrible precedent for then needing to negotiate with other California towns. PG&E has an agenda as a publicly traded company with bottom line short-term profits for shareholders, and liability to consider as priorities. Environmental Impact Reports, experienced arborists determining tree removal, burying lines, moving lines, decentralizing the grid, and other progressive solutions are more expensive but more effective if the aim is truly fire prevention and sustainability.
If you have anything to share or contribute, we are a coalition of concerned citizens and want to hear from you. We consider:
-This is a nonpartisan issue.
-It is about freedom and rights of our municipalities to have power over the town property, which half the trees are on.
-It is about private property rights, which the other half of the trees are on.
-It is about respecting historical ordinances and town heritage.
-It is about the lives of healthy trees that are vital to the ecology and beauty of our towns.
- It is about having a productive collaboration with PG&E for long-term sustainable solutions for fire safety.
Please share this campaign on social media and email your friends. Folks do not need to be local to contribute or to be aware of this, so please share broadly.
Please be in touch directly by email through this campaign or leave a message at [phone redacted] and we will respond asap.
#SaveNCTrees
Old NC Airport
________________________________________________________________
More Information:
The Nevada City Planning Commission voted unanimously in favor of limiting the scope of PG&E's downtown tree removals and inserting local oversight into the process at the Sept. 1, 2020 meeting, where a petition with over 1000 signatures was submitted.
There is a Nevada City Council meeting Sept. 9, 2020 to address this issue.
We seek a solution to the downtown power grid that allows the historic Blue Atlas Cedar at Bennett St. and West Broad St. to survive. Solutions could include undergrounding some portions of the line, rerouting, or trimming the tree without cutting it. This particular tree is on the official Chamber of Commerce Nevada City Tree Tour of town , it's rare, has been there since the Gold Rush, and PG&E certainly has the resources to find another way.
We ask PG&E and City contractors to take another look at the old pine grove at the top of the Pioneer Cemetery between West Broad and Orchard streets. These are huge, healthy trees surrounded by historical graves and 50+ feet from the power lines.
This ties into a larger issue with PG&E's Enhanced Vegetation Management Project. Traditionally they have cut trees within 12' of lines, and also any deemed a particular hazard. This new project expands that 12' to 50-100 feet, without any particular concern for actual hazard. Many of the decisions are being made by unlicensed subcontractors with as little as 3 days training and heavy incentives to cut as many trees as possible.
Another important consideration is that clear cutting large sections of forest to either side of lines farther from town (like has been done across most of the county) successfully protects PG&E from liability concerns over trees falling into lines, but it also creates empty space for fast growing, fast burning underbrush—in many cases actually increasing fire danger. It is dangerous to assume that what's right for PG&E is right for the community.
It's not about cutting everything vs. cutting nothing. It's about giving every tree its due consideration, and allowing the city and their own professional arborist to have a seat at the table and to work out a nuanced plan with PG&E— one that gives fire prevention significant consideration, but doesn't give PG&E and its subcontractors blanket permission to cut anything and everything they want without oversight or local input. These trees are in protected historic areas of our town that matter significantly to the townspeople, and PG&E has no reason to care about anything other than a revenue stream and a potential liability line item.
Web Resources:
Official:
https://nevadacityca.gov/pview.aspx?id=20905&catid=0
Planning Commission Sept. 1 Meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOXFf2Gx7LA
Here is a link to the Public Utility Commission complaint form. This is the state body that oversees PG&E. Please consider filing a complaint. https://appsssl.cpuc.ca.gov/cpucapplication/
Property Owner rights: https://www.cserc.org/news/%C2%AC%C2%AC%C2%ACpges-powerline-tree-clearing-on-private-parcels-creates-confusion-and-concern-for-property-owners-here-are-tips/
Media:
https://www.kcra.com/article/pgande-to-cut-down-200-trees-nevada-county/33921213
https://www.theunion.com/news/tree-removal-opposition-becomes-sticking-point-for-microgrid/
Please note that although PG&E's public statements to these media outlets say its practices are determined by highly trained specialists, that has been found to be false.
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/721429865083302/
#SaveNCTrees
PG&E has marked hundreds of trees for removal in downtown Nevada City and Grass Valley, including many old growth and historic trees, and those beloved by our community. This is slated to begin September 8, 2020 in NC and is already underway in GV. We appreciate that fire prevention is serious, and we certainly want to ensure the safety of our towns, yet many of these trees are healthy and not endangering our cities. The Nevada City Planning Commission is unanimously in favor of limiting the scope of PG&E's downtown tree removals and inserting local oversight into the process, and PG&E has been entirely unreceptive to negotiating.
This gofundme is to fuel the growth of organized opposition to peacefully protest, raise awareness, and legally resist PG&E's corporate arrogance and unprofessional, unsustainable planning. There are better ways to prevent fire in our towns.
Money from this fundraiser will be used for legal fees, protest supplies, professional consultants, and any additional organization creation fees.
We aim to work with PG&E to find better solutions in a timely manner; solutions that save many of our beloved and historical trees, such as those 100-year-old World War Memorial Trees in Memorial Park, and old pines in Pioneer Cemetery, trees on West Broad street, and many more.
We are lobbying for local oversight and control of PG&E decisions on city land. City Council, the City Planning Commission, and multiple certified arborists (with decades of PG&E contracting experience) are very uncomfortable with the way the company is approaching this project.
We are currently seeking volunteers as well as an umbrella NPO to take us on as a project to transparently manage these funds.
Ultimately this is larger than just Nevada City or Grass Valley. The PG&E representative plainly stated in our City Council meeting that negotiating with the town in any way sets a terrible precedent for then needing to negotiate with other California towns. PG&E has an agenda as a publicly traded company with bottom line short-term profits for shareholders, and liability to consider as priorities. Environmental Impact Reports, experienced arborists determining tree removal, burying lines, moving lines, decentralizing the grid, and other progressive solutions are more expensive but more effective if the aim is truly fire prevention and sustainability.
If you have anything to share or contribute, we are a coalition of concerned citizens and want to hear from you. We consider:
-This is a nonpartisan issue.
-It is about freedom and rights of our municipalities to have power over the town property, which half the trees are on.
-It is about private property rights, which the other half of the trees are on.
-It is about respecting historical ordinances and town heritage.
-It is about the lives of healthy trees that are vital to the ecology and beauty of our towns.
- It is about having a productive collaboration with PG&E for long-term sustainable solutions for fire safety.
Please share this campaign on social media and email your friends. Folks do not need to be local to contribute or to be aware of this, so please share broadly.
Please be in touch directly by email through this campaign or leave a message at [phone redacted] and we will respond asap.
#SaveNCTrees
Old NC Airport________________________________________________________________
More Information:
The Nevada City Planning Commission voted unanimously in favor of limiting the scope of PG&E's downtown tree removals and inserting local oversight into the process at the Sept. 1, 2020 meeting, where a petition with over 1000 signatures was submitted.
There is a Nevada City Council meeting Sept. 9, 2020 to address this issue.
We seek a solution to the downtown power grid that allows the historic Blue Atlas Cedar at Bennett St. and West Broad St. to survive. Solutions could include undergrounding some portions of the line, rerouting, or trimming the tree without cutting it. This particular tree is on the official Chamber of Commerce Nevada City Tree Tour of town , it's rare, has been there since the Gold Rush, and PG&E certainly has the resources to find another way.
We ask PG&E and City contractors to take another look at the old pine grove at the top of the Pioneer Cemetery between West Broad and Orchard streets. These are huge, healthy trees surrounded by historical graves and 50+ feet from the power lines.
This ties into a larger issue with PG&E's Enhanced Vegetation Management Project. Traditionally they have cut trees within 12' of lines, and also any deemed a particular hazard. This new project expands that 12' to 50-100 feet, without any particular concern for actual hazard. Many of the decisions are being made by unlicensed subcontractors with as little as 3 days training and heavy incentives to cut as many trees as possible.
Another important consideration is that clear cutting large sections of forest to either side of lines farther from town (like has been done across most of the county) successfully protects PG&E from liability concerns over trees falling into lines, but it also creates empty space for fast growing, fast burning underbrush—in many cases actually increasing fire danger. It is dangerous to assume that what's right for PG&E is right for the community.
It's not about cutting everything vs. cutting nothing. It's about giving every tree its due consideration, and allowing the city and their own professional arborist to have a seat at the table and to work out a nuanced plan with PG&E— one that gives fire prevention significant consideration, but doesn't give PG&E and its subcontractors blanket permission to cut anything and everything they want without oversight or local input. These trees are in protected historic areas of our town that matter significantly to the townspeople, and PG&E has no reason to care about anything other than a revenue stream and a potential liability line item.
Web Resources:
Official:
https://nevadacityca.gov/pview.aspx?id=20905&catid=0
Planning Commission Sept. 1 Meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOXFf2Gx7LA
Here is a link to the Public Utility Commission complaint form. This is the state body that oversees PG&E. Please consider filing a complaint. https://appsssl.cpuc.ca.gov/cpucapplication/
Property Owner rights: https://www.cserc.org/news/%C2%AC%C2%AC%C2%ACpges-powerline-tree-clearing-on-private-parcels-creates-confusion-and-concern-for-property-owners-here-are-tips/
Media:
https://www.kcra.com/article/pgande-to-cut-down-200-trees-nevada-county/33921213
https://www.theunion.com/news/tree-removal-opposition-becomes-sticking-point-for-microgrid/
Please note that although PG&E's public statements to these media outlets say its practices are determined by highly trained specialists, that has been found to be false.
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/721429865083302/
#SaveNCTrees
Co-organizers2
Nevada County Trees
Organizer
Nevada City, CA
Matthew Osypowski
Co-organizer