Community members attended the city council meeting last week to address concerns with the Rancho Tree Trimming contract.
Several community members were concerned about the removal of trees in Kern County and addressed these concerns during the public portion of the meeting. Their main argument was that restoring the tree canopy through new plantings is essential because it helps reduce heat and improve air quality. A motion was made to vote on the staff recommendation to approve the contract with Rancho Tree Service. Vice Mayor Manpreet Kaur voted no, and Council member Andrae Gonzales abstained due to campaign contributions received.
Lori Pesante, director of the Sierra Club, presented a petition with 500 signatures to protect and restore the Bakersfield Urban Tree Canopy.
“The air quality, it’s not just coming in from the Bay Area, I know everybody likes to think that, but we’ve had CARB do studies on this. There have been source appropriation studies done on this. It is local, it is oil and gas. It is big ag (agriculture), and it is diesel sources. It’s industrial sources. The trees are the cheapest and most effective way to deal with a huge chunk. It’s not the full solution, but it is the smart solution,” said Pesante
Community members emphasized the importance of trees as a part of the community and highlighted that many people have deep emotional and physical connections to the local tree canopy, underscoring the need to protect and restore it.
Mary Helen Barrow, a community member, spoke during public comments about her frustration.
“I am so upset at what you have decided to do, you and Kern County, with the trees in our area. We need to protect trees, not butcher them. I’m very upset. You are cutting down 725 trees? I can’t believe it. You can’t do that. You can’t butcher our community, because that’s what you’re doing when you cut down the trees. You’re butchering our community,” said Barrow.
City Manager Christian Clegg said he believes there is a misconception about the work the city has done with trees. According to Clegg, they have planted 1,225 trees in 2025 and 700 in 2026. Some trees have been removed because they were damaged, dead, or dangerous. They are making progress and balancing it out with safety measures. He mentioned that the Tree Advisory supported these moves.
Some community members had a strong opposition to hearing this from Clegg. Dr. Antje Lauer, who is part of the Tree Advisory Group (TAG), and other community members stated that it was not true.
Vice Mayor Manpreet Kaur made a referral to add new members to TAG. Including the Kern Audubon Society, Building Healthy Communities, The Native Plant Society, and Leadership Counsel.
Park Superintendent Keith Howell mentioned that removing one mature tree, if it is greater than 17 inches, costs around $231; installing a 15-gallon tank for a tree is $210; and planting a 24-inch box tree is $510.
Kaur confirmed with Clegg that money was left over from the last budget cycle. According to Clegg, around 180,000 was left over, and Kaur made a referral to use the money for planting new trees. Part of her referral included the city working with TAG to identify where to plant the trees, because TAG already knows which areas of town need more trees.
After the motion to continue the contract passed, Lauer stated she was not pleased.
“It’s only about trimming and removing trees, so there’s no official budget, only leftover money that wasn’t spent the previous year, you know, some shady numbers that nobody really remembered exactly how it was, but it just should not happen. They should know exactly how much money was not spent. What we would like to see is a balanced budget,” said Lauer.
