San Ramon Council Considers Plan to Remove Thousands of Mature Sycamore trees at an estimated cost of 10 million dollars to Residents

Hello Residents of San Ramon, We now have a much bigger fight on our hands than the Council’s decision to remove 100 trees along Bollinger. Now the City Council is seriously considering expending an estimated $10 million dollars on the removal of thousands of Sycamore trees throughout the Dougherty Valley. While I am presently in contact with the Department of Fish and Game and the State Attorney General’s office to determine what recourse we may have in connection with the anticipated environmental impact to the hawks and wildlife in the area, I encourage you to write your council members in opposition to the proposed plan which would essentially target selected neighborhoods within San Ramon and remove, in some cases, mature Sycamore trees that have been there for over 15 years due to alleged maintenance cost concerns and problems to pipes and sidewalks. While I can appreciate the Council’s concerns with the maintenance costs, we are talking about stripping neighborhoods of their trees and replacing them with 5 gallon trees. Picture your neighborhood without your trees. Not to mention the extraordinary cost to San Ramon, the impact on the wildlife would be devastating and in most cases, not necessary. Sycamore trees have been in San Ramon for decades, a proactive plan to remove thousands of trees when we allegedly cannot afford fireworks and Christmas decorations due to the City’s budget concerns is an abuse of discretion by this Council, who once again did not bother to determine what the San Ramon voters want on this issue. Please assist me in voicing your objections to the Council before it is too late. Karyne T. Ghantous, Esq. Ghantous Law Corporation 2603 Camino Ramon, Suite 200 San Ramon, CA 94583 Tel. (925) 242-2431 Efax (800) 485-8201 www.glawcorp.com