A rare chimera redwood tree in the way of SMART train tracks won't be relocated to a field near Cotati City Hall after all.
The unusual green-and-white coast redwood tree that has grown alongside the railroad tracks at East Cotati Avenue for at least 67 years couldn't be safely transported to the City Hall location, SMART has determined.
So the rail agency is considering another location, just across East Cotati Avenue from where the tree is now on SMART property, near where the new Cotati commuter train station is being built.
The original relocation site, a small, protected open-space parcel across from Cotati city offices called the Veronda-Falletti Ranch, was offered in April for replanting the 52-foot-tall tree.
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit initially planned to cut the tree down, saying it is in the way of a planned side track.
The agency's engineers said the tree would be too close to the tracks to meet federal safety standards and couldn't withstand a move. SMART's initial arborist report downplayed the tree's unusual nature.
But community uproar about the destruction of a potentially scientifically important specimen forced SMART to reevaluate its position.
The unusual tree is called a chimera because it exhibits both albino and normal green foliage from separate sets of DNA. Arborists who study such chlorophyll-deficient redwoods say the tree may be one of only about 10 chimeras in existence, and possibly the only mature specimen producing male and female cones — a potentially invaluable scientific resource.
Arborist Tom Stapleton, who has spearheaded the effort to save the tree, submitted several bids by tree movers who said they could relocate the tree.
Last week, SMART spokesman Matt Stevens said the logistics of transporting the tree to the Veronda-Falletti property made it unfeasible, mostly because of power lines that would have to be disconnected and reconnected during the move.
"You have to move the tree in an upright position, to do it right," he said.
Cotati City Manager Dianne Thompson said the move would require disconnecting 25 power lines that cross East Cotati Avenue.
She said she supported the revised plan.
"It seems like a reasonable solution," she said. "The tree would be highly visible from the train, accessible to the public and taken care of, at least initially, by SMART."
Bids submitted to SMART by Stapleton for the relocation varied from about $17,000 to $89,000 to move the tree across town to the City Hall site. It wasn't clear how much it might cost to transplant it across the street.
Stevens said SMART is still studying the issue and has not yet committed to moving the tree across the street. He didn't have a time frame for further decisions about the tree.
The Cotati City Council will hear an update from Thompson at its meeting Tuesday, starting at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
(You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 762-7297 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.)
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: