‘True Sadness’: Richmond residents fight to save Sequoia tree

A Richmond neighbourhood is fighting to keep one of its oldest residents: An 85-year-old sequoia tree.

Some Richmond residents are fighting to keep a beloved neighbourhood tree from being cut down.

Jenny Kwok lives on the same block as the towering tree, and believes the Sequoia is around 85 years old.

She said she was disappointed on Friday when she saw BC Hydro had posted a red notice on the trunk advising that it would be removed within 48 hours.

“The trees, they have life too, right?” she said.

“I believe that there’s a spirit inside the tree and it’s to protect us. Protect this street, keep us safe. That’s what I believe.”

Alex Tsai, another resident who lives in the area, said some people were unaware that the utility company had issued the notice.

“Every time we walked around and asked people like, ‘Hey, what do you think about this?’ No one knew,” he said. “Which is just a really, really bad way to treat a neighborhood, in my opinion.”

Safety risks

Susie Rieder, a BC Hydro spokesperson, said the tree is located next to an electrical transformer and that the utility has been working with the city of Richmond for a year on a plan to remove it.

She said BC Hydro has already secured municipal approval and has informed the property owner.

Rieder added that the tree was assessed by an arborist and that 47 per cent of its roots are compromised.

“We fully understand the community’s deep commitment to protecting its trees, and we’re equally committed to honouring that,” she said. “But we also have to balance the need of a safe and reliable electrical system.”

Rieder added if the tree remains in place, some of the risks to the public include structural instability, and people potentially coming within the tree’s strike zone.

In the meantime, she said BC Hydro is putting the project on pause and is working with the city to determine next steps.

‘True sadness’

Another Richmond resident, Amy Kwok, said she’s hopeful a solution will be found.

“My understanding is that the tree was here first and then the electrical box,” she said.

“I wish there was a little bit of better planning involved because to cut down the tree would be true sadness.”

On Wednesday, some Richmond local politicians joined the fight and parked in front of the tree at 4931 Princeton Ave. to prevent anyone from working on it.

Coun. Kash Heed said city council will conduct a closed meeting to discuss the tree’s future.

“Looking at it in the day and age we’re in right now, there’s got to be a way around this. You don’t have to take a long standing 85-year-old unique Sequoia tree out of the neighborhood,” Coun. Kash Heed said.

An online petition has also been launched to save the tree.