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News From Silicon Valley's Neighborhoods

Trouble Trees Saratoga--Folks who live with them know what a menace eucalyptus trees can be--falling over like toothpicks in El Niño storms, dropping limbs like leaves when the wind blows. Now, the Saratoga school board is being rocked by controversy over the fate of 10 of the willowy, pungent giants at a local elementary school. Two of the trees, on the playground of Saratoga School, on Oak Street, are taking up space that some would prefer to leave open for flying footballs and such. And a plan for the school's renovation calls for removal of eight more along the south side of the school near the parking lot (no one seems particularly concerned about them). Options have been added to the plan, recommending keeping the playground trees and moving construction away from the trees' "drip lines" or canopies. Plans to encase Saratoga School in a bubble are pending. So far, the school board has deferred decision-making until more parents weigh in on the trees' fate. Parents will get that chance on October 1 between 7pm and 8:30pm in the school cafeteria. Traci Hukill and Michelle Alaimo [ Metro | Metroactive Central | Archives ]