Menlo Park residents worried neighbor's ADU plans near massive redwood trees could pose safety risk

MENLO PARK, Calif. (KGO) -- Several Menlo Park homeowners are worried about what a neighbor's construction plan could mean for nearby redwood trees.

Kelly Birmingham is worried human life could be at risk if anything were to happen to her massive redwood trees. For perspective, she took us to her backyard in Menlo Park, where the tallest one stands at 145 feet.

"This one is six-and-a-half feet in diameter, and you can see the trunk is quite large at the base," Birmingham said.

Her main concern is the ADU her neighbors are planning to build just feet away from the trees.

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"They would remove this, and then they would push back and build 40 feet along the fence," Birmingham said.

Birmingham received a notice from the city about the building permit on March 12. Since then, she's sounded the alarm that building so close could compromise the stability of the trees.

"This one, it looks like the demoing and the construction would go down about three feet, and these trees really have shallow but wide root systems that go out very far," Birmingham said.

On Wednesday, Birmingham received a copy of the city arborist's report on the project. It stated in part, "In summary, I cannot state with any certainty whether or not the two trees closest to the property will survive this construction."

Birmingham and her neighbors suggest the ADU be built on the other side of the property.

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We spoke with David DesMarais, who lives next door.

"The idea of going in, pushing in the other direction strikes me as unnecessary. And, of course, one thing Kelly has come up with--not just, 'Hey, here's the problem'--she's come up with a proposed solution," DesMarais said.

We tried talking to the homeowners about their pending permit plans. We saw someone was home but no one answered when we knocked on the door.

The city told us the proposed project is currently under review and will provide comments in the next few weeks.