Pacific Gas and Electric Company is working with customers and the City of Hayward to implement the Community Pipeline Safety Initiative. The Safety Initiative works to improve gas pipeline safety and to ensure that first responders have immediate access to gas pipelines in the event of an emergency.

Through the Initiative, PG&E is conducting pressure testing, leak surveys, and pipeline condition assessments. In addition, PG&E is identifying trees and structures around gas pipelines that present emergency access or safety concerns. According to PG&E, trees pose a risk when they block emergency access to pipes for first responders or when they may damage a pipeline. 

Which trees in Hayward will be impacted?

City staff is working with PG&E to determine which trees in Hayward pose manageable risks and can remain in place with regular monitoring, and which pose unacceptable risks and therefore must be removed. 

• Trees on City Property: PG&E worked with City staff to review 425 City-owned trees. Through a tree-by-tree assessment, 82 of these trees were identified as posing an unacceptable risk and will be removed for safety. PG&E and the City will work together on a plan for tree replacements and restoration. Local residents who live near the planned safety work will be notified prior to any work taking place.
• Trees at Skywest Golf Course: An additional 151 trees located on Skywest Golf Course are proposed to be removed due to their proximity to gas pipelines. Skywest Golf Course is land leased from the City by the Hayward Area Parks and Recreation District (HARD). PG&E will work directly with HARD to remove trees and plant replacement trees at that site.
• Trees on Private Property: PG&E is reaching out to local property owners to review approximately 212 trees located near the pipeline on private property. If there is a tree on your property that presents a potential safety concern, you should have received a letter from PG&E indicating the need to set up a meeting and gather additional information. For any tree that needs to be replaced, PG&E will work collaboratively with the property owner to develop a plan forward, which may include planting a new tree at a safe distance from the pipe and other landscape restoration.

Questions about City tree removal and replacement plan: Contact the City's Landscape Architect, Michelle Koo at 510.583.4208

Map of trees that are being assessed for pipeline safety 
  Red = City-owned tree assessed to be an unacceptable risk
  Yellow = City-owned tree assessed to be a manageable risk
  Orange = Brush on City-owned property
  Blue = Trees on private property marked for assessment

Resources

• Staff Report to the Hayward Council Sustainability Committee on September 12, 2016 
• Maps and Photos of Impacted Areas
• PG&E Website on the Community Pipeline Safety Initiative