Lafayette City Council Approves Lawsuit Against PG&E Over Tree Removal
LAFAYETTE (CBS SF) -- The Lafayette City Council agreed Thursday to sue Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) over an agreement to remove a group of trees, city officials said.
PG&E reportedly told the city on Tuesday that it intended to remove 17 trees on East Bay Regional Park District property within the City of Lafayette, along the Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trail.
According to the city, the utility stated the tree cutting could begin as early as next Monday, and would take approximately three weeks to complete.
The City of Lafayette took issue with the plans as a Tree Removal Agreement, signed in January 2017by city officials and PG&E, stipulates that the utility cannot remove trees within Lafayette city limits until all obligations in the agreement have been met.
According to the city, PG&E has not met its obligations to "provide all information required by the City's Tree Protection Regulations," which prompted the city to host a special City Council meeting and decide to file a lawsuit to prevent PG&E from removing the trees Thursday.
City officials intended to file the lawsuit Friday in the Northern District of California Bankruptcy Court.
The Lafayette and PG&E Tree Removal Agreement can be found online at lovelafayette.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=6389.
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