A large crowd of approximately 120 gathered at Highland Oaks Elementary School Thursday night to discuss alternatives to the county's plan to place 250,000 cubic yards of sediment from the Santa Anita Dam onto a site home to 179 oak trees.

The parkas outnumbered the business suits as more than two dozen concerned citizens, many of whom were not residents of Arcadia and had traveled to town solely to oppose the initiative, took the microphone to air their grievances on the county's controversial plan.

Known as the Santa Anita Sediment Removal Project, the plan would use a conveyor belt to move 500,000 cubic yards of debris from the dam to sediment sites located within the city of Arcadia on land owned by the county.

It's 11-acres in the "middle" sediment site where a veritable nature preserve of California native live oak and sycamore trees, as well as the county's problems, lie.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (DPW) representative Keith Lilley spoke first at the meeting, presenting a Powerpoint presentation that gave information on how and why the county came up with their plan to chop down the oaks. He also presented notes from the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and the steps the county would be taking to mitigate the impact of the lost oaks.

The crowd listened quietly, many scribbling notes in preparation for their turns to take the mic.

When that time came, Glen Owens, the Monrovia Planning Commissioner who has emerged as a leader of the movement, blasted the county's EIR for its "deception."

In his address to county officials and the crowd, Owens revealed that he had commissioned engineer Bart Stryker to produce an independent report which disputes the findings of the county's EIR. Stryker's report, in sharp contrast to the county's EIR, alleges that enough room remains in the existing upper and lower sediment sites for the sediment. A copy of Stryker's report is attached to this article.

"My engineer says with an encroachment permit into Monrovia you could probably put another 1 million yards in there," Owens said, in what was perhaps the night's most interesting and highly applauded development.

Owens told the county officials that their next step ought to be meeting with the planning departments of both Arcadia and Monrovia to develop a new plan for the sediment spreading that didn't involve removing any of the trees.

"That's something you should have done a long time ago. And you didn't do it and you're gonna pay for it," Owens said, addressing county officials.

The lone speaker in favor of the county's plan was Ralph Bicker, Architectural Review Board (ARB) Chairperson of the Highlands Homeowner's Association. He began his comments by asking how many people in attendance actually lived in the Arcadia Highlands.

Hands shot up quickly throughout the crowd.

Bicker said he had been working with county engineers for the last two years on the plan, and that the alternatives would mean "50,000 truckloads up, 50,000 truckloads in… Right past my house, right past a dozen other houses."

Bicker challenged the audience as to why they were just now beginning to protest the plan. "How come we've never heard from any of [you] but we hear from people in Santa Monica and everywhere else?"

"You didn't put it in the newsletter," an unknown audience member shouted.

Cameron Stone, a key figure in the movement to save the trees and also a neighbor of Bicker's, argued the county should find another place to put the sediment, suggesting as one possible place the "several very large holes in Irwindale that need to be filled."

Stone also said that the county should look into other trucking routes so that Arcadia homes wouldn't be disturbed. "There's [an exit] on Sycamore Ave. that doesn't go by any houses for quite a ways and it's just a quick hop, skip, and a jump to the interstate."

Arcadia officials at the meeting included City Manager Don Penman and City Council Member Bob Harbicht._

Members of the Pasadena Group of the Sierra Club, International Oak Foundation, California Native Plant Society and the Los Angeles County Oak Woodland Conservation Strategic Alliance were also in attendance.

In a phone interview with Patch today, DPW spokesman Bob Spencer said the meeting was "what we expected."

"The experts will take a look at what alternatives were presented -- there weren't that many -- and they'll include those in the report," Spencer said when asked what's next for the DPW.

Owens was confident the people's voice would be heard.

"This was the best meeting I've ever seen. The people were polite, passionate and informed," said Owens. "It's truth versus power. The public is on the right side of this issue."

An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to engineer Bart Stryker's independent report as an EIR.  The article also incorrectly stated that Ralph Bicker is chairperson of the Highland Oaks Homeowner's Association. Mr. Bicker is the Architectural Review Board (ARB) Chairperson of the Highlands Homeowners Association. Patch regrets the errors.