Arcadia Gets $186,000 to Replace Windstorm-Damaged Trees

Arcadia won't have to dip into its general fund to replace roughly 500 trees damaged during December's wind storm, thanks to a $186,000 grant from the county.

The city was among 14 San Gabriel Valley recipients of a $1.9 million program created to plant new trees in place of those destroyed in the storm. The money comes from the Los Angeles County Safe Neighborhood Parks Proposition of 1996, or, Prop A.

City officials said planting will likely begin in December.

Tom Tait, the director of Arcadia's Public Works department said the city immediately cut down damaged trees that posed a safety risk, but it had yet to plant new ones in their place.

"We're really excited," Tait said of the grant. "We're a tree city."

When asked which neighborhoods would receive the bulk of the grant money, Tait said the funds would be equally distributed throughout the city.

"The funny thing was this windstorm hit us flat-out everywhere," he said. No one neighborhood sustained more damage than others.

But don't expect things to look much different than they did before the storm. Tait said the city will simply stick to its existing Urban Forest Master Plan, a document that maps out the species and location of every tree in Arcadia.

Do you agree with Tom Tait? Or do you think certain neighborhoods were harder than others in the storm?