Tree hugger’s last stand

Bob Valeski gathered signatures and convinced the city to rip out mature trees on Brush Drive. But then Theresa Chaque stepped in.Theresa Chaque just loves trees, especially the ones on Brush Drive near her home. She enjoys admiring their size, touching their trunks and occasionally giving them a nice, soft hug.

Neighbor Bob Valeski is a different story. To him, the trees are a nuisance. They have roots that crack the sidewalk and leaves that litter the gutter. Tear them all down, he declares -- Brush Drive doesn’t need them.

Valeski’s home is only three doors down from Chaque’s, and the two are engaged in a tree battle that has entangled the Huntington Beach City Council and threatened to tie up a $3-million public improvement project.

Their story begins oddly in the middle, on an autumn day in 2005, when Chaque discovered city workers marking up her street and gutter with temporary paint. After a brief conversation, Chaque learned that Valeski had convinced the city to come out and tear down all the trees on Brush Drive, the main thoroughfare of their neighborhood, just off Newland Avenue in north Huntington Beach.

“I was shocked,� she said. “I had no idea why this was happening.�

Even stranger, she found out, Valeski had requested that all the trees be chopped down 10 years ago; the city was just now getting around to doing the deed.

She would later discover that Valeski wasn’t the only one asking for help. Dozens of neighborhoods in Huntington Beach were having problems with trees. Many had grown too big and the roots were starting to crack the sidewalks and street gutters. Storm drains were emptying incorrectly, and people were tripping on the sidewalk and getting hurt.

In response, the city created a petition process to deal with overgrown trees. If a person could collect signatures from three-quarters of his neighbors, the city would put his street on a list and remove the overgrown trees and fix the sidewalks when money was available.

It would turn out to be a very long list, Public Works Director Bob Beardsley said, but that didn’t deter Valeski. He rounded up the signatures, submitted them to the city, and waited. Old neighbors would move out, new neighbors would move in, but he just kept waiting.

Then one day, more than 10 years later, Valeski received a notice that money had finally become available and the trees would soon be chopped down to make way for smaller trees and straighter sidewalks.

Valeski rejoiced, but not everyone was happy.

Motivated by her conversation with the street workers in front of her house, Chaque launched her own petition drive, this time to save the trees. Dozens of neighbors signed it, and the city found itself in a very peculiar situation.

“This is the first time we’ve had residents say they didn’t want� something they had asked for in the past, Beardsley said. The city had already selected someone to do the work and was going to sign a deal on Feb. 6. Delaying the work could mean more expenses to a project that was already tight on money.

After several months of haggling, Beardsley said he might have come up with a solution. The city will likely tear down only those trees on Brush Drive that are damaging the sidewalk, leaving the rest alone. The city will also try to keep an eye on the trees to make sure they don’t cause any more trouble.

“That might be good because more people would be happy,� Chaque said. “We’ll take a look at it.�

The City Council will also look at the issue at its Feb. 6 meeting. In the meantime, Chaque said, she would find new ways to get a rise out of her neighbors.

“Next time I see Bob [Valeski], I’m going to hug a tree in front of him,� she joked.

QUESTION

Are trees in your neighborhood nice or a nuisance? Call our Readers Hotline at (714) 966-4691 or send e-mail to hbindependent @latimes.com. Please spell your name and include your hometown and phone number for verification purposes.20060202itz6btncKENT TREPTOW / INDEPENDENT(LA)Theresa Chaque is trying to save Brush Drive’s trees, which the city slated for removal because of another neighbor’s complaints. A compromise is in the works. 20060202itz6c2ncKENT TREPTOW / INDEPENDENT(LA)Bob Valeski and other residents say tree roots are causing deformities in sidewalks and gutters, leading to standing pools of water that can become breeding grounds for mosquitoes. They’d like to see the city remove the trees.