In a 3-2 vote, the board approved modifications to the oak tree ordinance – a law enacted in 2003 to protect large numbers of oaks from being cut down by local property owners. The ordinance only applies to farm fields or potential farm fields with a large number of oak trees. The rewritten ordinance relaxes the guidelines for what counts as a voluntary tree, which is a tree planted or nurtured by a landowner, Environmental Defense Center Chief Counsel Linda Krop said.

?EUR??,,????'??The changes (will) further weaken protections for oak trees in the county,?EUR??,,????'?? Krop said.

The original oak tree ordinance stemmed from an incident in which the Kendall-Jackson Winery bulldozed a large number of oaks to plant a vineyard, causing many members of the community to bring suit against the local vintner, Krop said. She said the board of supervisors discussed the ordinance with agriculture groups, ranchers, developers and environmentalists for six years before adopting it.

?EUR??,,????'??There will be publicity about this,?EUR??,,????'?? said county supervisor Brooks Firestone. ?EUR??,,????'??Nurseries, landscape architects and contractors will be able to say ?EUR??,,????'??Let your oaks grow, don?EUR??,,????'???t worry about it.?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'??