Title
PLN25-0664 - Tilden Way - Applicant: City of Alameda Public Works Department. Public hearing to consider a Certificate of Approval to allow the removal of three existing Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) trees that are approximately eighteen, fourteen, & fourteen inches in diameter at four and one-half feet above the ground, respectively, located within the public land area along Tilden Way as part of the Clement/Tilden Improvement Project. General Plan: Community Mixed Use. Zoning: C-2 Central Business District. CEQA Determination: the Project is being reviewed consistently with the 2040 General Plan EIR, which previously evaluated the removal of protected trees to facilitate new development, and therefore, no further environmental is necessary. On two separate and independent bases, the project is exempt from further environmental review as a Class 1 (Minor Alteration to Existing Facilities) and a Class 4 (Minor Alterations to Land) categorical exemption pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 and 15304, respectively. No exceptions to the exemptions apply.
Body
To: Honorable Chair and Members of the Historical Advisory Board
From: Steven Buckley, Historical Advisory Board Secretary
BACKGROUND
Since 2005, the City has been endeavoring to construct the Clement Ave/Tilden Way Improvement Project (Clement/Tilden Project), which plans to utilize the abandoned railroad right-of-way at Clement Avenue and Tilden Way to extend the Cross Alameda Trail between Broadway and the Miller-Sweeney/Fruitvale Bridge, as well as to implement intersection and traffic safety improvements, provide enhanced pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and improve the truck and bus routes in this area. In 2009, the City included the proposal in an amendment to the prior General Plan Transportation Element and its associated EIR, and in 2018, the City obtained the railroad property through eminent domain. The Clement/Tilden Project was carried forward into the current 2040 General Plan, which was adopted in 2022. In 2023, the City Council approved the design concept after extensive community outreach and endorsement from the Transportation Commission. The project site is located on the north side of Tilden Way, south of the Fruitvale bridge and north of the intersection with Blanding Avenue. The property abuts Tilden Way on the south and east sides, and the Bridgeside shopping center to the north and west. The site is currently vacant but for existing trees and fencing, and is proposed to be developed for dog park and bike path improvements.
On November 24, 2025, the City’s arborist report indicated that the removal of the trees is necessary to facilitate the project. Among the trees to be removed are three protected Coast Live Oak trees that are not in poor health or otherwise pose a hazard. Pursuant to (Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) Section 13-21), Coastal Live Oaks (Quercus agrifolia) with a 10” or greater diameter measured at 4.5’ above ground are protected trees, the removal of which requires a Certificate of Approval. While the Historical Advisory Board (HAB) has delegated approval of protected trees to the Secretary of the Board, staff is referring this matter for Board consideration due to it being a component of a larger City capital improvement project with potentially broader public interest.
If the Historical Advisory Board (HAB) issues a Certificate of Approval for removal of the Oak trees, the proposed project will also require Planning Board and City Council approval per the Public Works tree removal policy, which will be considered at a later date.
DISCUSSION
Protected Trees
The first stage of the project entails construction of half of the pedestrian and bicycle path from the Bridgeside Shopping Center along Tilden Way, with the project scheduled for completion by winter of 2026. Staff have designed the location of the pedestrian and bicycle path to require the removal of as few existing trees as feasible. The project also includes creation of a dog park bordering the pedestrian and bicycle path. The presence of the high voltage power lines in close proximity to the existing Oak trees creates a potential hazard, and because those power lines are intended to remain, would have necessitated regular, extensive trimming of the trees to ensure safety.
Alameda Municipal Code Section 13-21.7(c) requires that a Certificate of Approval be issued for removal of any protected tree including Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) trees that have at least a ten-inch diameter measured at four- and one-half feet above the ground. The three existing oaks meet these criteria and therefore require the Certificate of Approval to remove. Further, the AMC also requires that for each oak tree removed, a minimum of two, ten-gallon or greater oak trees replace it. The current landscape plans have a planting schedule that shows two new Coast Live Oaks intended to replace the singular Oak tree which has already received a Certificate of Approval for removal under permit number PLN23-0472, which was previously approved by Planning staff. The planting schedule also shows eleven new Engelman’s Oak (Quercus engelmanii) trees and five Island Live Oak (Quercus tomentella) trees proposed to be planted on site, as recommended by the City’s landscape architect and arborist.
Findings
Based on these facts, staff finds that the removal of the three Coast Live Oak trees is necessary to facilitate the proposed Clement/Tilden capital improvement project, and has submitted a certified arborist’s report supporting the need for the tree removal. Staff believes the Board can make the following findings to approve a Certificate of Approval pursuant to Alameda Municipal Code section 13-21 .
Findings
1. Removal. The Historical Advisory Board shall determine whether to issue a certificate of approval for the removal with or without conditions of approval, based on whether it finds that the site to which the Historical Monument will be moved contains the appropriate architectural or cultural context.
The subject property has not been designated a Historical Monument, however a Certificate of Approval is required for removal of protected trees under Alameda Municipal Code Section 13-21.7(c), because the trees in question are Coast Live Oaks with at least ten-inch diameters at four and one-half feet above the ground. The determination that the trees do not meet the criteria for a Historical Monument is consistent with the Secretary of Interior standards insofar as the trees are not the first, last, only or most significant on their kind, nor are they associated with an individual or group having profound influence on the history of California. The trees will be replaced with oak trees of at least ten-gallon size or greater, as required by Section 13-21.7(c), on the same property, such that the vicinity of the project site and the new replacement trees will continue to benefit from a similar site-specific context that they currently enjoy. Removal is necessary to facilitate the Clement/Tilden Improvement Project and implement long-planned right-of-way, bicycle, and pedestrian safety improvements. The replacement trees will be planted according to the planting plan which have been reviewed and approved by the City Engineer as part of the final design of the project, providing sixteen new oak trees, Engleman’s Oaks and Island Live Oaks, positioned to enhance the project site and complement the reconfigured urban canopy and public improvements.
2. Due to alterations, such as removal of branches, removal of major roots or root systems, or other impacts the health of the subject tree will continue to decline resulting in decay and other structural defects that increases the potential for the tree to fall, which could result in injury to persons and damage to property. These cannot be controlled or remedied through reasonable preservation practices or procedures.
The applicant has submitted an arborist’s report prepared by Leonardo Tuchman, a certified arborist, which recommends removal of the trees. The arborist’s determination for each individual tree states that “[the] tree is recommended for removal given project conflicts that cannot be resolved with practical and reasonable alternatives”. As discussed above, Removal of the subject trees is necessary to accomplish beneficial public improvements, which cannot be implemented without altering the trees’ branch and root systems in a manner that is likely to be detrimental and result in a health decline in the trees. Replacement according to the planting plan will provide new on-site oak trees in locations that are compatible with and enhance the new site context.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENTS
Property owners and residents within 300 feet of the project boundaries were notified of the public hearing and given the opportunity to review and comment on the proposal.
PLANNING BOARD REVIEW
Upon action by the HAB on the Certificate of Approval, the City will conduct separate public review to consider the larger tree removal project to allow removal of 65 total trees. Staff will review the proposed design to ensure that it is consistent with the General Plan, Zoning Ordinance and the Public Works General Tree Removal Policy. The proposal will result in a new dog park and pedestrian and bicycle trail located on the subject property.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The proposed protected tree removal is being reviewed consistently with the City’s 2040 General Plan Environmental Impact Report (GP EIR), and thus no further environmental review is necessary. The GP EIR evaluated the potential impacts of the removal of protected trees to facilitate new development, as well as the Clement/Tilden Improvement Project, and found that adherence to the Historical Advisory Board review process for protected tree removal would result in less-than-significant impacts by ensuring such removals avoid conflicts with City policies (Impact 9-5), and that additional mitigation was not required. On a separate and independent basis, the project is Categorically Exempt from additional environmental review pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, Section 15304 - Minor Alterations to Land (projects involving the removal of problematic vegetation for the protection of public health and safety) - because the proposed removal is necessary to facilitate safety improvements for pedestrian, bicycle, and automobile traffic under the larger Clement/Tilden Improvement Project. As detailed in the arborist’s report (Exhibit 2), the three trees do not have individual significance and are therefore not individually eligible for listing in the National or California Register under any criteria. Additionally, on a separate and independent basis, the project is also Categorically Exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(c) Existing Facilities (Minor alterations to existing facilities including bicycle facilities). Accordingly, there are no exceptions to the categorical exemptions under CEQA Guidelines apply.
CLIMATE IMPACT
There are no identifiable climate impacts or climate action opportunities associated with the subject of this report. The project has been designed in such a way to retain as much of the existing urban forestry as possible.
RECOMMENDATION
Conduct a public hearing and approve the draft resolution issuing a Certificate of Approval to allow the removal of three Coast Live Oak trees that each exceed ten inches in diameter located on public property on the north side of Tilden Avenue, immediately south of the Fruitvale Bridge.
Respectfully Submitted,
Steven Buckley, Secretary to the Historical Advisory Board
By,
Tristan Suire, Planner II
Exhibits:
1. Project Plans
2. Arborist’s Report
3. Resolution