200-year-old oak tree in Pasadena may be cut down amid safety concerns

Residents of a Pasadena neighborhood came out Sunday in support of an ailing oak tree estimated to be about 200 years old.

Located on the east side of McDonald Park in the Bungalow Heaven neighborhood, the tree has been draped with a sign reading, “I gave over a century of shade. What will you do to protect me?”

“This community is unique in Southern California because of its greenery and its trees,” Pasadena resident Jessica Richards, one of the residents who launched the campaign to save the tree, told KTLA. “If we continue to lose those trees one by one through negligence, lack of creative thinking or preservation, that’s a loss for our city.”

City officials, however, have pointed out that the large oak tree has fallen ill with disease, is now leaning and adding stress to already heavy branches.

“Safety is paramount,” city spokesperson Lisa Dederian said. “People hold meditation classes under the tree, people who are picnicking sit under this tree.”

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