Community briefs: Petition to save Flood Park trees, local blood drives and a fundraiser for Ann's Coffee Shop owner

Posted by Alice Newton
a resident of Menlo Park: Suburban Park/Lorelei Manor/Flood Park Triangle
on Apr 22, 2021 at 3:02 pm
Alice Newton is a registered user.

The article about our group, Flood Park Tree Advocates 2021, misstates what our "press release" said and misrepresents our goals. Please read our version on Nexdoor titled "FLOOD PARK TREES." We state in the article, "We want to be clear that our purpose is not to oppose any amenities, but to save as many large old native trees as possible." The many new amenities and improvements in the SMC Parks Dept.'s Landscape Plan 2020 that were requested in public input meetings in 2015 will be a boon to the surrounding communities. We realized from the Tree Report in the Final EIR for Plan 2020 that included in the 8% (72) of the park's trees to slated for removal were some of the largest old native trees in the oak meadow where people currently picnic, stroll, and play volleyball. The Parks Dept. uses a definition of "heritage trees" (over 48"dbh) that differs from the tree ordinances of Menlo Park, Atherton, and Redwood City that were updated in recent years reflecting the public's desire to protect native trees with trunk diameters less than that. Most of the large oaks in our neighborhoods and in the park are less than 48" dbh, but are still huge trees that could be 150-200 years old. Our petition states, "The San Mateo County Parks Department's Landscape Plan 2020 preserves 92% of the trees in Flood Park. Among the remaining 8% (72 trees) planned for removal in Flood Park to build new amenities, over half are healthy native trees of varying sizes, many quite old and large. We, the undersigned, value these trees for their beauty, their importance in the ecosystem of the park, and their role in combatting global warming. We request that new amenities be built under and around native trees, and that the reason for each of the 72 trees slated for removal be published on the SMC Reimagine Flood Park website prior to the first public input meeting." Please come to our Earth Day/Arbor Day Event 4/25 at 3pm rain or shine at the Pine Group Picnic Site in the park.