PALO ALTO — PG&E plans to meet with city officials and residents in December to address concerns about its plans to remove hundreds of trees near underground natural gas transmission lines.
The utility estimates that about 300 trees on private property and 56 trees on public property make it difficult for emergency responders to access the lines, according to City Manager James Keene. The initial estimate was 600 trees.
Residents interested in the impact of PG&E’s so-called Community Pipeline Safety Initiative are invited to an open house. The event is slated to take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Dec. 2 in the El Palo Alto Room of the Mitchell Park Community Center, 3700 Middlefield Road.
“PG&E has committed to sharing information on the safety risks and working collaboratively with affected residents to conduct the safety work in a manner that protects public safety while preserving our city’s urban canopy,” according to a city news release.
Preservation work includes planting a new tree at a safe distance from the line and other landscape restoration, city officials said.
Earlier this month, city officials questioned the need for such widespread tree removal and cautioned residents against signing agreements or action plans with PG&E until the city obtained more information about the utility’s plans.
Keene said Palo Alto has a “relationship challenge” with PG&E, during a public discussion between California state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, and the City Council on Nov. 16.
“We’ve had a disagreement with them about the approach that they’ve used about the public outreach and we’ve actually been advising folks not to proceed with them at this point,” Keene said.
Keene asked Hill for input on the issue.
Hill said he was aware of concerns regarding the PG&E initiative, which has been rolled out in other cities, and planned to investigate how it has worked elsewhere.
“It’s hard to argue when they’re doing something for safety when we were … very critical of actions in the past when they were not concerned about safety,” Hill said. “But, I think there is also the fear of an overreaction, that it may not be necessary under the circumstances.”
Additional gas safety work planned for 2016 includes leak surveys, cathodic protection system inspections and regular patrols.
PG&E sent letters to about 48 homes in Atherton in July. A utility spokesman said at the time that PG&E wanted five feet of clearance around lines, with lawns, flowers and low-growing herbaceous allowed.
The utility will work with homeowners to remove the trees and either replace them or offer in-lieu payments, according to PG&E.
For more information about the initiative, visit www.pge.com/GasSafety or call 877-259-8314.
Daily News Staff Writer John Orr contributed to this report.
Email Jacqueline Lee at jlee1@dailynewsgroup.com or call her at 650-391-1334; follow her at twitter.com/jleenews.
