Rohnert Park Considers Replacing 83 Ugly, Ailing Trees

ROHNERT PARK (CBS SF) -- Rohnert Park city council will vote Tuesday night on whether to replace more than 80 ugly trees with new, healthier ones.

For years, the trees have been a fixture on Country Club Drive, but now the city council is voting on a plan to root them out.

Resident Kayla San Filippo lives off Country Club Drive and her walk to work could be getting a whole lot greener.

"I think they look pretty mediocre. They're not very fancy at all," San Filippo said of the 83 ailing honey locust trees that are in the median. The trees have been there for 40 years, but recently the trees haven't been doing well.

Rohnert Park assistant city manager Don Schwartz explained, "They are not as full and lush as we would want trees to be in that area and so we think that there's a better option out there. Trees that have proven themselves to survive and thrive in a situation like this one."

Chinese Pistache and Japanese Maple may take their place.

The project will cover about two miles of Country Club Drive and take about three years to complete.

The project would cost almost $42,000, but taxpayers won't foot the bill.

Instead it will be funded by developers who took trees out when building in Rohnert Park.