Community Corner

Chopping Down of Old Pine Trees Irks Residents

The claimed 100-year-old pine trees shaded much of the quiet residential area near Carpenter Community Charter School in Studio City.

Studio City residents living in the apartment complexes on the quiet, narrow street off Carpenter Avenue before the charter school were surprised in mid-December when workers cut down what's being said were 100-year-old pine trees that were nearly 100 feet tall.

Some residents claim the work was done on private property without a permit.

Resident Saul Davis provided photos of work crews from Gold Coast Tree Services on site during the removal process, and showed one sign a neighbor typed up to express frustration of the little advanced notice Carpenter Avenue residents receive. Representatives from the Bureau of Street Services and the Los Angeles Police Department were occasionally on site to direct traffic, but Davis said residents still were left clueless as to why the work needed to happen.

On Thursday, a few weeks after the work commenced, Davis said it's still frustrating to have less shade and little explanation to justify the tree removal, and instead leaving residents with several stumps.

"It was pretty forested," he tells Patch. "Birds lived here."

When asked by Patch on social media in December, some local users noted the trees were removed to make way for a nearby development.

Davis noted one argument was the trees were going to eventually fall down, were planted too close to the road and posed a hazard.

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