Redway Redwood Removal Permit Goes Before Planning Commission Tonight

Workers prepare an old-growth redwood for removal at a residential property in lower Redway in January. That tree, the last remaining tree slated for removal on the property, goes before the Humboldt County Planning Commission tonight. [Background photo: Freddi the Tree Guy]

The hearing begins at 6 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors’ chambers at the Humboldt County Courthouse in Eureka.

County planning staff are recommending approval of the permit, filed by Robert Scarlett for his Oakridge Drive property. The tree, a 252-foot-tall coastal redwood estimated at 350 to 370 years old and roughly 10 feet in diameter, sits approximately 20 feet from the main residence and 40 feet from Briceland-Thorne Road. Five residences fall within the tree’s falling radius.

In their staff report, planners cite findings from two registered professional foresters and a certified arborist, all retained by Scarlett, concluding the tree poses an immediate hazard. The report points to a significant cavity with rot roughly 200 feet up the trunk, a large cut at the base left when adjacent trees were removed, and root damage from road maintenance and nearby construction. A forester with Hohman and Associates Forestry Consulting found it “likely that the tree or a significant part of it will fail and fall on someone or damage property.” An ISA-certified arborist concluded that mitigation options such as pruning would not be feasible without retaining a high degree of risk and recommended immediate removal.

Staff also note that a nesting bird survey conducted May 19 found no evidence of active nests in or immediately adjacent to the tree.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, however, raised concerns in a June 11 referral response, noting the parcel sits within potentially suitable marbled murrelet habitat and less than a quarter mile from federally designated critical habitat in the John B. DeWitt Redwoods State Natural Reserve. CDFW recommended any work occur outside the murrelet breeding season, March 24 through September 15. Staff acknowledged that recommendation but stopped short of including it as a condition of approval, citing concern about leaving a hazardous tree standing through summer and fall. The commission could add that restriction on its own.

Opponents have been vocal and organized. The Old-Growth Neighborhood Association submitted a letter this month asking the commission to postpone tonight’s hearing, arguing that the county used an incomplete version of Ordinance 2112 when notifying Q-Zone property owners, leaving roughly ten owners without legally adequate notice. Planning Manager Cliff Johnson acknowledged the noticing gap in a June 10 email to residents, saying those owners were sent notices that day, though opponents say that left fewer than the ten working days required under county code. Staff’s report characterizes the Q-Zone notice requirement as not mandating any specific number of days of advance notice for property owners beyond the 300-foot radius.

Michael Evenson, a Petrolia resident and former field producer with decades of redwood ecology experience, submitted a detailed letter to the commission challenging the expert findings point by point. He argues that cavities high in old-growth redwoods are common and not indicators of imminent failure, that the base cut left by Scarlett’s crew would not cause the kind of rot it would in a Douglas fir, and that the forester and arborist were paid by the permit applicant without independent review. He also questions the age estimate, suggesting a tree of this diameter could be 750 years old or more. He called on the commission to deny the permit, investigate the planning department’s earlier failure to enforce the Q-Zone, and take corrective action.

Neighbor Wanda Naylor, whose property is within a few hundred yards of the site, wrote in opposition as well, arguing the tree is not in imminent danger and that Scarlett’s earlier removal of the four trees was financially motivated. “He could have limbed them,” she wrote. “He didn’t — clearly he wanted to make money on the board feet.”

The Q-Zone ordinance, adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 1996 following an earlier episode of unpermitted redwood removal in the same neighborhood, limits removal to trees within the footprint of a permitted building, or trees that are damaged or diseased and in imminent danger of falling. Under Ordinance 2112, any violation is a misdemeanor and can trigger administrative penalties equal to twice the stumpage value of the removed trees.

CAL FIRE has opened an administrative investigation into the December removals. That investigation involves both Scarlett, a CAL FIRE firefighter, and the registered professional forester who issued the structure protection exemption that authorized the work.

The commission’s decision can be appealed to the Board of Supervisors. The Board had been scheduled to receive a broader staff report on how the unpermitted removals were allowed to happen, but county officials delayed that report in May, saying board members should not publicly weigh in before a potential appeal lands before them.

The public can attend tonight’s hearing in person at the Board of Supervisors’ chambers, Humboldt County Courthouse, 825 Fifth Street, Eureka, at 6 p.m. Remote attendance is available via Zoom (password: 200525) or by calling 346-248-7799, meeting ID 875 4480 7065, password 200525. A livestream is available at humboldt.legistar.com or on Access Humboldt cable channel 1.