VUSD to remove beloved Oak tree(s)?

June 28, 2026

Jim Reeves commentary, News , , , , , , Leave a comment

Mt. Whitney High School, Visalia, California

Social media sites are buzzing with a rumor that the Visalia Unified School District plans to remove one or more Valley Oak trees from the campus of Mt. Whitney High School, to make room for a new building.

Comments are of three types:

  1. They’re a hazard, cut them down.
  2. They can’t cut them down, there’s an Oak Tree Preservation ordinance in Visalia.
  3. Please don’t cut them down, there are so many memories of that/those tree(s)!

My response to the three comments?

  1. Properly maintained, oak trees are seldom a hazard. VUSD certainly has the resources to preserve the trees safely.
  2. The Oak Tree Preservation ordinance was changed last year. See my previous post about the change.
  3. The trees, as evidenced by their size, have been a part of the Mt. Whitney campus for a long time, possibly there even before the school was opened in the 1950s.

I’ve been unable to determine if the rumors are true. I can find no documentation on the VUSD website about plans for a new building on the Whitney campus. The school district has not submitted permit requests to the City of Visalia.

If the rumors are true, and VUSD does plan to remove one or more oak trees, they WILL have to apply to the city, since the revised ordinance still requires government organizations to get a permit. Whether the City will rubber stamp a request from the District for removal remains to be seen.

I’ll be watching this to see what happens. So far, it’s only rumor.

Visalia Without Oak Trees

June 24, 2026

Jim Reeves commentary, News, Personal , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

“Chainsaws roaring”

If you ask Google “what oak tree is common in the area of visalia, california?” the following are parts of it’s response:

The Valley Oak (Quercus lobata) is the most common and iconic native oak tree in the Visalia area. Visalia is home to the largest remaining stand of native valley oaks in California’s entire Central Valley.

Also,

Because these magnificent trees are tightly woven into the city’s heritage, Visalia strictly enforces a Valley Oak Ordinance. This policy requires public and private property owners to secure official permits before pruning, trimming, or removing any mature valley oak.

That is no longer true.

Something recently happened to change the status of oak trees, which had been protected by City ordinance since 1971.

Visalia’s webpage states: The City’s Valley Oak Ordinance establishes policies for the care, trimming, and removal of valley oaks. Public property owners are required to ensure the protection of these magnificent trees and must obtain permission to remove or prune valley oaks.

Check that bold text. Only “public property owners”, i.e. governments, are required to obtain permits and/or permission to trim or remove Valley Oaks in Visalia.

Here’s what went down.

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