Previous topping results in creation of hazard and pending removal of historic trees; Tuscon, AZ

Commission votes to endorse cutting of 80-year-old tamarisks www.azstarnet.com ®:
Tucson Region
Commission votes to endorse cutting of 80-year-old tamarisks
By Megan Neighbor
For the ARizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona Published: 09.10.2009

The Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission voted unanimously — albeit reluctantly — Wednesday to endorse the removal of more than a dozen historic trees near the Manning House downtown.
The non-native tamarisk trees, which are at least 80 years old, were described as a safety hazard in Tucson Urban Landscape Manager Irene Ogata's presentation to the commission.
'When these trees were pruned, they were topped,' Ogata said. 'Once you top a tree, you weaken the structure of that tree.'