Trees Need Hugs Too, Ask Encinitas

Encinitas trees had got everyone’s limbs up in the air.

Remember that guy who staged a weeklong sit-in in a tree in Encinitas (and how it was subsequently chopped down right after he flew the coop)?  That tree he roosted on may be long gone, but it looks like the city has decided to give trees a little bit more respect, according to the North County Times.

The Encinitas City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday for trees—declaring that they give the city charm and deserve some reverence. The new policy declares the foliage as “an integral part of the city’s infrastructure”.

This new policy comes in wake of numerous tree-chopping controversies—the most recent being in late January. City officials ordered 11 trees in Orpheus Park to be cut down because they blocked ocean views of condominiums nearby. A man attempted to save one of the trees by living in it for a whole week, but after he climbed down, the tree got the ax.

Encinitas residents who attended the city council meeting told the paper it was about time that the city instilled a treaty with the trees. The former mayor of the city said the policy was a step in the right direction, but cited a lack of details as worrisome.

“It’s a good first start,” Ex-Mayor Sheila Cameron told the paper.

Encinitas resident Tony Kranz brought a copy of a tree policy used by the city of Davis, which, he said, was a better example because it was more in depth. He also called for another addition to the policy—the definition of what a “tree” is in Encinitas.

What is a "tree"? Anyone else totally stumped?
 

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