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Residents urge protections for heritage redwoods, raise park-safety and demolition concerns during council public comment
Summary
At public comment, residents urged postponement of heritage-tree removals and stronger tree protections, reported ongoing park safety problems and a library grounds vandalism issue, and one speaker said the city demolished her floating home after an auction with little notice.
During the March 23 public-comment period at the Redwood City Council meeting, multiple residents urged policy changes and raised safety and property-loss concerns.
Paul Finkel, an Anamore Street resident, asked the council to immediately postpone two heritage-tree removal permits (listed for 1839 and 1882 Anamore Street) and to modernize the city’s heritage-tree ordinance. Citing Chapter 35 of the city code, Finkel urged a “mitigation-first” approach that would require applicants to provide an arborist’s report and to exhaust preservation options — such as deep watering, growth regulators and structural pruning — before a removal permit is approved. “A 100-year-old redwood is an irreplaceable community asset,” he said, and he asked that accessory dwelling unit approvals not be allowed to require removal of a heritage tree.
Other residents echoed that concern. Elizabeth Devaney, a more-than-20-year resident, urged protection of large redwoods across the city as redevelopment proceeds and praised the public-works department for responsiveness.
Several speakers raised safety concerns in and around parks. Mary Jo (who said she lives at 1090 Main Street) described repeated incidents at the library-adjacent park — property damage, a vehicle break-in and ongoing trash and noise — and said she had called police multiple times without satisfactory results. Olivia Austin, also of 1090 Main Street, described repeated episodes of a person digging in the library grounds and said police had limited follow-up after an initial response.
Marjorie Ruiz, a senior local government affairs representative for PG&E, delivered a safety presentation on behalf of the utility and promoted PG&E’s “Report It” app and desktop reporting tool for non-emergency hazards (she emphasized that the tool is not a replacement for 911 and urged residents to call emergency services for downed lines or gas leaks).
A deeply personal complaint came from Erin Coleman, who said the city auctioned her floating home and that the city then demolished the structure with her belongings inside. Coleman said she received minimal notice, was injured while attempting to move items, and now lives in a homeless shelter after the loss. “They bulldozed the whole thing flat,” she said, adding that she was not able to retrieve her belongings.
No formal council action was recorded during public comment; the clerk closed the comment period and the mayor moved to the State of the City address.
Ending — follow-ups: Residents requested ordinance changes (heritage-tree mitigation requirements) and follow-up from police and city staff regarding reported park problems and the floating-home demolition; the transcript records requests but no council directives or votes during this meeting.
