Downtown Plumas Street trees caused concerns among business owners, who say the city is working hard to address the issue by trimming the closely-spaced foliage. Photo courtesy of Yuba City

 

YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - Plumas Street trees are beautiful but pose a risk.

In 2023, some downtown business owners expressed their concern for the foliage facing their storefronts. Yuba Downtown Business Association President Ryan Henshaw said the “last he heard was the city was trying to determine if they were going to take the approach of cutting down.”

According to Henshaw, the goal was “essentially removing every other tree” due to their closeness.

“A lot of these bigger trucks were coming down the street and hitting branches, so something needed to be done,” Henshaw said. “I think they’re still looking into the best long-term strategy, but for the time being, they are trimming those trees so that it’s not gonna be much of a hazard.”

Reducing the risk of property damage or injury is all that matters, according to Community Service director Ann Gillen, who explained why officials have not removed up to 50 trees as once reported they would.

“The original plan was to remove every other tree due to the maturity and growth of the trees,” Gillen said of the issue that has caused concern for more than a year. “After reassessing, it was decided that removing a few trees due to health and safety and a Class 1 pruning to the rest would be the best option.” 

The type of cutting entails trimming slow-growing ornamental trees by hand with pruners and saws.

“Although regular pruning is important for the all-around health of the tree, it doesn’t just benefit the tree but the people around it as well,” Gillen said. “Plumas Street is a high vehicle and foot traffic area.”

City-planted trees in downtown centers are popular for many reasons. Aside from offering shade to sidewalk shoppers, it also reduces glare. Along with aesthetics, adequately planted trees downtown also control air quality and help filter stormwater.  

Trees For Cities reports a few other significant reasons for downtown center trees.

“It’s not all about the physical environment; trees also help us with our ability to cope mentally with life in an artificial urban environment,” according to the website.

Gillen said Plumas Street is lined with Platanus Occidentalis, also called the American Sycamore.

Plumas Street trees are Platanus Occidentalis, also called the American Sycamore. The thick, dense trees must be trimmed for safety purposes. Photo courtesy of Yuba City

“They are on a three- to-four-year trimming cycle, but if the need for trimming comes up due to health and safety before the cycle, we will take care of that need,” Gillen said.

The downtown business association president said officials are keeping their promise to trim the trees as needed. As for the future, Henshaw said there are pros and cons to possible removal.

“It gives them more space to kind of grow out,” Henshaw said of removing every other tree. “But they also offer shade.”

Gillen said the bottom line is that pruning trees addresses health and safety issues and helps stimulate growth.