I am thankful for people like Nicholas DePaoli (“Coexist,” Feb. 19) who stand up for our wonderful trees that the city and county seem so determined to destroy in the name of progress. His opinion piece spells out the problem and offers some solutions. When KSBY did a piece about the wonderful tree, and also when I read about it, the head of the performing arts group said they never wanted to lose the tree.
So why wasn’t the new performing arts theater designed to accommodate the tree? Why didn’t the city demand that the tree be preserved and protected. I understand that the city’s expert claims the tree has root problems—what exactly does that mean? This tree is a piece of our history that is still alive. Every day it provides habitat for numerous species, shade, and beauty for all of us to enjoy.
If you care about the wonderful trees in our city, I hope you will heed the advice from “Coexist.” Call your council members, write letters to them, ask that the city take a pause as Mr. DePaoli suggests. Why should it hurt to take a short delay to re-evaluate the situation with more input from a technical review group? We need to do all we can to save this great tree. Because of other so-called progress from the city, I am beginning to feel that they don’t know how to “walk the talk.” Don’t just say you care about our city and its heritage, demonstrate it.
Sharon Roberts
San Luis Obispo
This article appears in March 5-12, 2026.