Fate of Last Lower Redway Old-Growth Redwood Heads to Planning Commission

‘The Last Tree Standing’ slated for removal on a private residential property in lower Redway was being prepped for removal on May 7 after conditions of a stop-work order were met, lifting the halt to the removal efforts. [Photo by Lisa Music]

The hearing is set for 6 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors’ chambers at the county courthouse. Robert Scarlett, a CAL FIRE firefighter who purchased the corner lot at Oakridge Drive and Briceland Road in October 2025, has applied for a special permit to remove the remaining tree — a 252-foot-tall, 10-foot-diameter redwood estimated to be between 350 and 370 years old.

The tree is the last of five old-growth redwoods Scarlett sought to remove from the property, which he said he bought for his mother to live in. He secured a CAL FIRE hazard tree exemption, saying falling limbs posed a danger to the structure. Four trees came down in December without the county special permit required under Humboldt County Ordinance 2112, the Q-Zone ordinance, which has governed old-growth redwood removal in lower Redway since 1996.

As we previously reported, the county had, in recent years, operated under the belief that a state CAL FIRE exemption superseded local zoning, including the Q-Zone. By the time Planning Director John Ford found language in the California Code of Regulations suggesting otherwise, four trees were already gone.

The county issued a stop work order in response to allegations that the tree was not hazardous. That order was later lifted after Scarlett submitted reports from a registered professional forester and certified arborist finding the tree hazardous. However, attempts to remove the fifth tree in late April were halted amid protests near the work site after the Highway Patrol wanted to close the road for the safety of the public. An encroachment permit was required to close the road to ensure safety.

In a May 4 letter to Ford, attorney Fredric Evenson of the Ecology Law Center wrote that the county “not only has jurisdiction to enforce this ordinance, but a clear and mandatory duty to do so prior to authorizing any activity that would result in tree removal.”

Scarlett has directed questions to his attorney, Tonya Farmer, who said in a statement that he “will continue to proceed in accordance with applicable law” and declined further comment.

The Q-Zone ordinance permits removal only when a tree falls within the physical footprint of a permitted building with no feasible alternative, or when a tree is damaged or diseased and in imminent danger of falling.

The Planning and Building Department issued a press release today, Tuesday, May 26, stating that the Board of Supervisors will not receive its previously scheduled report on the tree removals on June 2. The county said board members could be limited in how freely they could discuss the matter if an appeal is later filed after they have already weighed in publicly. Once the Planning Commission rules on June 18, that decision can be appealed to the board.

The public can attend the June 18 Planning Commission hearing at the Humboldt County Courthouse. For more information, contact Planning and Building Director John Ford at [email protected].