In Elk Grove Thursday night, Sacramento State student Brad Sherwood won a victory in City Council chambers that saved seven ancient oak trees from the axe. The 3-2 council vote to forbid removal of any of the trees came in the waning hours of Arbor Day, a day of tree-planting and celebration.

The owner of a proposed Toyota dealership in Elk Grove Auto Mall was denied permission to cut down the 200-year-old giants to pave over the spot for auto storage and service bays.

“It makes it all worth it when I see that other people have the same passion I do, and that they?re willing to fight for it,” Sherwood said after the council vote.

“I want to show [the council] that big money isn?t as important as the people who live here,” he said.

Sherwood is a 22-year -old Government/Journalism major at Sac State, and has lived in Elk Grove all of his life.

He read in a local newspaper last year about the dealership?s proposal to remove the trees. After he reviewed the proposal itself, he wrote a letter to the editor.

“The reasoning behind the removal of these beautiful oaks? They block visibility from the freeway and leak sap onto parked cars,” his letter said.

The letter sparked community interest, including a response from the original property owner, Dorothy Hrepich, who had a ranch on the site for many years.

“She had read my letter to the editor and was glad someone was going to stick up for the trees,” Sherwood said. She told him that under the terms of the original sale, the developer was permitted to remove 47 oaks from the property with the provision that the seven old trees would be untouched, he added.

As word spread, he received e-mails and phone calls from long-time Elk Grove residents. Another letter to the editor and a couple of planning commission meetings later, and Sherwood found himself leading a grassroots campaign to save the trees.

He got some help from the South County Citizens for Responsible Growth, a citizen activist group. The group attended meetings with him and offered advice.

“I?m new to this, but I know when something?s wrong,” he said.

Sherwood told the council that the dealer should be held to the original conditions of the land sale.

Numerous Toyota employees were present at the meeting and stood up in support of their boss, dealership owner Blake Snyder. A suited representative of Snyder showed color photos of the site to the council, and argued the dealership?s case.

An arborist report commissioned by Snyder questioned the health and stability of the trees in question. “We truly have tried hard to work with the City of Elk Grove on this tree issue,” Snyder said.

“I was biting my nails before the vote,” Sherwood said. “I thought the council was going to compromise and take out a couple of the trees.”

“I?m very happy.”

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