Performance Nursery forced to destroy $187,687 worth of trees in Moorpark

Performance Nursery to date has been forced to destroy $187,687.50 worth of trees from its 42-acre Moorpark yard, due to a short notice by Southern California Edison to vacate land the nursery has leased since 1986.

A total of 433 trees ranging from 36-inch to 60-inch box containers had to be ground to mulch because SCE gave Performance Nursery only until Oct. 15 to remove about 460,000 shrubs and plants as well as 32 employees and significant infrastructure from the property stretching from the Arroyo Simi to Tierra Rejada Road.

“These were healthy trees that could have been donated, given the time,” said Tom Lucas, owner of Performance Nursery which operates in four locations in the Greater Los Angeles area. “To properly move nearly half a million plants would take about three years. It will take at least six months just to secure an alternate location with an adequate and consistent water supply. The notice was sudden and very harmful.”

Performance Nursery is trying to negotiate with Southern California Edison for more time, but meantime the Oct. 15 deadline fast approaches and the nursery had to begin some of the actions necessary to return the property to its “original condition” as ordered in a July 29 license agreement termination letter sent by an SCE attorney.

Since August, nursery workers have destroyed larger trees on the property at 12777 Tierra Rejada Road. Piles of destroyed trees remain to be ground to mulch or removed at the northern edge of the property alongside Arroyo Verde Community Park. The cost to date for the tree destruction is estimated at about $50,000.

The trees destroyed so far carry a value to contractors of $187,687.50 - with a general non-contractors listing price valued at $268,125 total.

Many of the trees could have been given away to nonprofit organizations or community causes, Lucas said. But with only days remaining to clear hundreds of thousands of plants, the nursery felt it could not afford to lose time trying to locate new owners and move the larger trees, he said.

The trees ranged from 6 to 30 feet tall and include four varieties of Ficus trees in 36-inch containers, 48-inch Sequoia trees and 60-inch Camphor trees. In all, 89 different types of trees were destroyed, including 64 Prosopis Chilensis, known as the Chilean mesquite tree, and 23 Prunus Krauter Vesuvius trees commonly called the cherry plum.

For 28 years Performance Nursery has operated on the SCE land where now an estimated 460,000 shrubs and plants are grown on the property, keeping the land orderly and maintained to control dust, clean graffiti and deter unwanted activity such as trespassing, vandalism and vagrancy. Much of the property much is immediately adjacent to backyard fences of residential homes.

In recent weeks hundreds of neighbors have voiced their support for keeping the nursery, its added beauty and protection on the property, as opposed to the dusty fallow dirt that would be there should Performance Nursery vacate the land. So far, Edison has revealed no future plans for the property.

As of Sept. 22, more than 900 people have signed an online petition supporting Performance Nursery at http://www.change.org/p/performancenursery. Additionally, about 100 people have signed printed-out petitions.

The nursery’s plea to remain on the land, or at least to have a fair amount of time to remove the plant material in an orderly fashion, has been featured in the Moorpark Acorn, Ventura County Star and Pacific Coast Business Times newspapers. Working on stories now are the San Fernando Valley Business Journal and KTLA-TV Channel 5 News, which sent a crew to cover the nursery’s Sept. 20 open house.

The open house was originally scheduled to be held at the nursery, but upon receiving a fax warning letter the day before from SCE’s attorney the event was moved to the city-owned Arroyo Vista Community Park adjacent to the nursery operation’s northern leg.

Neighbors to the property, especially those with backyards adjacent to it, want Edison to listen to their desires and concerns.

“Do they have another business all lined up to take over your leased land,” Moorpark resident Diane Walters asked in an email to Lucas on Sept. 8. “Clearly, SCE is being unreasonable. Why not work with you, a longtime fixture in our community?”

Rachel Schiefer signed the online petition Sept. 21, writing, “Having the nursery adjacent to my property has brought shade, helping to keep my house cooler (less air conditioning), kept the dust storms at minimal and brought peace of mind from having an empty lot that may encourage vandalism and a place for the homeless. Performance Nursery has always gone over and above in keeping peace with property owners.”

Said Pam Castro, a former Moorpark School Board member whose family has lived in the community for five generations, on the Change.org petition site: “I beg you to reconsider this action and please try to come up with a good compromise that would not have such a negative impact on our great town. This location doesn’t represent just a bunch of plants and dirt to us. Its loss would represent a loss of support, compassion, a great neighbor and great friends of Moorpark. Please reconsider!”

Photos of the tree destruction work: http://www.pinterest.com/performancensy/tree-destruction-thanks-to-sce/

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