Palo Alto pitches new 'tree policy' after California Avenue uproar; Palo Alto, CA

Palo Alto pitches new 'tree policy' after California Avenue uproar - San Jose Mercury News: Responding to an uproar over the sudden removal of 63 trees on California Avenue, Palo Alto officials have drawn up a new 'tree policy' that would require community meetings and citizen commission approvals every time the city cuts down a tree.
New training sessions for city staff, a checklist of criteria for future tree removals and an 'urban forest master plan' are also part of the city's plan to prevent a repeat of the public relations blunder.
In a letter to the city council, resident Robert Smith called the trees' removal "one of the saddest events that the city has done in my 40-plus years here." Noting that he follows city matters closely and hadn't heard anything about the plans, he called the tree removal a "rogue action by a city department that has too much budget and not enough supervision.