EDH oak tree worth a million

There are 11 oak trees in the backyard of my Cameron Park home. There are times when I hate every one of them. I call them scrub oaks. These oaks are not big and majestic and mature. In the oak woodland world, they're more like teenagers. No wonder they're so much trouble, dropping leaves virtually year round, whether it's hot or cold, rainy or dry.Peter Mauer, director of planning in El Dorado County, assures me the trees in my backyard are not scrub oaks."They're young, immature live oaks," Mauer said. "Oaks are slow-growing trees. Over 100 years or so, they will become larger trees."Great news; I can clean up behind them - or should I say under them - for the next 30 years or so and my great-grandkids can enjoy them when they're actually worth looking at.Contrary to what you might be thinking, I'm no tree hater. But I'm not a tree-hugger, either.Sure, oak trees are messy. At my house, the hurricane-force leaf blower is second only to the dishwasher for regularity of use among appliances.But oak trees are great providers of shade. I would guess our home stays 10-15 degrees cooler in the summer than the next-door neighbor's house where there are zero oak trees on his property.That translates into savings on the PG&E bill. Anytime I can take money from PG&E and put it in my pocket, it's a good thing.So, scrub oaks - even though that's not what they're called - like most things in life, have good and bad qualities.When it comes to oak trees, my preference obviously is heritage oaks. Those ginormous -and sometimes hundreds of years old - stately trees which seem to stand sentry duty on whoever's property is fortunate enough to have one.Thanks to lifetime Folsom resident Doug Scalzi, the Montano de El Dorado shopping center at the corner of Latrobe and White Rock roads in El Dorado Hills will have one.Scalzi, owner of Sacramento Commercial Properties, developers of the new shopping center, insisted on it.A lone heritage oak stands on the 14-acre parcel. Most heritage oaks are protected."In our general plan policy requirements for El Doardo County a certain percentage of oak-canopy on all developments is protected," Mauer said.Mauer went on to say almost all heritage oaks are protected. But there is a provision in the general plan that allows for the removal of a heritage oak if it stands alone and is not part of oak woodland."We could have leveled all the trees on the property," Scalzi said. "But I'm not that type of developer."And Scalzi put his money where his mouth is, spending what he claims was in excess of $1 million to make sure the heritage oak has a permanent place on the Montano de El Dorado shopping center grounds.Scalzi, also one of the main movers and shakers in the ongoing revitalization efforts for the Historic District in Folsom, has past performances to back up his claim. He said his Folsom property on Sutter Street where he built his 1910 craftsman-style house has a heritage oak on it. Scalzi built a double-garage, with one garage one each side of the tree to preserve it.I guess I can live with those 11 oaks in the backyard of my house.My great-grandkids are sure to love them.