A towering redwood tree that was to be the focal point of the garden at the new West Branch of the Berkeley Public Library was so damaged by the contractor that it will have to be taken down, library officials announced Tuesday. The contract with West Bay Builders required the company to take precautions to preserve the root structure of the redwood, but those measures were not followed, according to a letter Donna Corbeil, director of library services, sent out to neighbors. The contractor damaged the roots while excavating around the tree. Dan Gallagher, the city’s forestry engineer, recently examined the tree’s roots and determined that they were so damaged that the tree is unstable and unhealthy. “The result of severing those important roots is that the tree’s anchorage and stability has been compromised,” Gallagher was quoted as saying in the letter. “No reasonable alternatives to re-establishing the tree’s stability exist. The roots served a vital function that cannot be restored by any other means.” The contractor will be removing the tree — which looks about 70 feet high — within the next few days, and will have to pay for the damage, said Corbeil. The Library Board discussed the […]
A towering redwood tree that was to be the focal point of the garden at the new West Branch of the Berkeley Public Library was so damaged by the contractor that it will have to be taken down, library officials announced Tuesday. The contract with West Bay Builders required the company to take precautions to preserve the root structure of the redwood, but those measures were not followed, according to a letter Donna Corbeil, director of library services, sent out to neighbors. The contractor damaged the roots while excavating around the tree. Dan Gallagher, the city’s forestry engineer, recently examined the tree’s roots and determined that they were so damaged that the tree is unstable and unhealthy. “The result of severing those important roots is that the tree’s anchorage and stability has been compromised,” Gallagher was quoted as saying in the letter. “No reasonable alternatives to re-establishing the tree’s stability exist. The roots served a vital function that cannot be restored by any other means.” The contractor will be removing the tree — which looks about 70 feet high — within the next few days, and will have to pay for the damage, said Corbeil. The Library Board discussed the […]