I truly enjoy the magnificent oak at the corner of Palm and Nipomo. However, I am not an arborist, so I cannot speak to whether the arborist’s report that questions the viability of the tree through and post-theater construction is “malarkey” or not, nor whether “in all likelihood the tree would survive construction just fine” as one person has suggested.
At the time of the original planning application, standard understanding suggested the tree would be fine, and an arborist report was not required; had the project been built then, the tree would have remained (but likely not survived). So here we are, in this unfortunate position.
I lament the loss of the tree and appreciate the planting of three others to mitigate its loss, but to lay responsibility, guilt, or blame at the feet of a “treasured, storied local organization,” as one writer so correctly calls SLO REP, misses the point. I would hazard a guess that neither SLO REP staff nor board members are arborists but know that city policies, current at the time, were followed.
Both Sandi Sigurdson and I look forward to the completion of this long-planned theater project, and the joy it will bring to us and future generations.
Steve McGrath
SLO
This article appears in April 23-30, 2026.
