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At the root of controversy Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Several rare American chestnut trees on Medford�s Cottage Street are a traffic hazard, says a property owner. A city traffic committee agreed; but city tree officials want the unique trees saved. Here, Avi Cruz, 9, and his cousin Jeobanni Cruz, 8, bicycle in the shade of the chestnuts. Cottage Street chestnut trees � hazard or heritage? By David Preszler Adispute is brewing over the fate of a pair of chestnut trees along Medford�s Cottage Street. To property owner Bob Riehm, the trees are a huge nuisance. The roots are cracking not only the sidewalk and the driveway but the building�s foundation. They are pushing up the street, too, creating drainage problems. Most of all, he says, they are a safety hazard, blocking the view of tenants trying to get in and out his apartment complex at 113 Cottage St. A city traffic committee agreed this spring and recommended the trees be removed. But city tree officials say the towering trees � believed to be American chestnuts of extremely rare size � are too valuable a community resource to be lost. The city�s citizen tree commission is scheduled to debate the fate of the two trees � each estimated to be 3 to 4 feet in diameter and more than 50 feet tall � at its Aug. 14 meeting. Then City Manager Michael Dyal will decide their fate. "They are pretty impressive," says Gwendolyn Scott, the city�s tree program coordinator who works with the tree commission. Scott is recommending that the commission deny Riehm�s request to have the trees cut down and replaced with Raywood ashes � the tree the city generally recommends be planted along streets. Instead, she�d like to see the city eliminate a pair of parking spots to alleviate safety concerns. City officials have discussed, but taken no action, on creating a "heritage tree" ordinance that would require property owners to consult with the city before removing large trees. The city already has authority over trees such as Riehm�s that are in the curbside right-of-way. Large American chestnuts, once plentiful on the East Coast, have largely been lost to blight, according to the Vermont-based American Chestnut Foundation. Scrawny, smaller trees have continued to grow but the beloved towering chestnuts have largely disappeared. "There are very few big ones," says Fred Hebard, a plant pathologist with the foundation. "There are very few large chestnut trees left in the U.S. There are only a couple thousand." Hebard says there are a few chestnuts on the West Coast, only about one or two per city. Some of those are European chestnuts, a similar-looking species often confused with the American chestnut. Hebard says the foundation has asked for samples from the Medford trees to confirm that they are American chestnuts but has yet to receive them, so he can�t say for sure. Scott says the trees and two others along Cottage are American chestnuts. She says they are believed to be only ones in the city and are "very healthy." Riehm disputes the health of the trees, pointing to places where large branches have broken off. He says he�s disappointed city officials haven�t taken him up on offers to show them the trees and his point of view. Instead, they�ve come themselves and, he fears, already made up their minds. Riehm says he�s a "tree person" who�s planted many trees not only at his rental properties such as the Cottage House Apartments but at his home, too. However, he says the chestnuts need to go. He says one tenant was hit twice trying to get out of the complex and many have complained. "I�ve lost good tenants that wanted to live here," he says. "We have a lot of people who don�t want to live here because they can�t get in and out." Ray States, a retired engineer who�s lived in the complex four years, agrees the trees should go. "The trick is getting in and out," he says. "Anytime you get out, you think you are going to get hit." If the trees are so desirable, Riehm says, the city should take seed stock and plant it in a park where the trees would have space to grow. They simply don�t belong where they are. "It�s a question of safety," Riehm says, "and when it comes to safety, there�s no question." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA