REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Pacific, Gas and Electric Tree Removals and Planting Plan for East California Avenue (Information Only)
Report
BACKGROUND
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) initially rolled out its Community Pipeline Safety Initiative (CPSI) in November 2013. The purpose of the CPSI is to ensure that PG&E's gas pipelines are operating safely by reviewing the areas above and around the natural gas transmission lines to be certain that first responders and PG&E emergency response crews have critical access to pipelines in the event of an emergency or natural disaster. Attachment 1 includes information distributed by PG&E about the program.
As per PG&E, trees, tree roots, brush, and structures can threaten safety because they can block firefighters' access during emergencies and can prevent PG&E crews from performing important safety and maintenance work. Tree roots pose a safety risk because they can damage the protective coating of underground pipelines, leading to corrosion and leaks. Because of this the CPSI reviewed various transmission line locations, including many in Sunnyvale, and made recommendations for removing trees that PG&E felt either blocked access or posed safety risks to the integrity of pipelines. PG&E proposed to remove approximately 220 trees in Sunnyvale which caused a lot of concern and negative feedback from the City and public.
PG&E recognized they needed to take a step back, reevaluate their criteria for tree removal, and reconsider the number of trees that were being recommended for removal. As part of this new process, PG&E was able to reduce the removal of trees by approximately 80%, including maintaining the trees along Homestead Road and other locations in Sunnyvale. However, even with the reevaluation, PG&E concluded that the trees along East California Avenue adjacent to Central Expressway still would need to be removed (Attachment 2 - Location Map).
DISCUSSION
A 6-inch natural gas transmission line runs along th...
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