Cracked sidewalk vs. heritage redwood: Santa Rosa debates fate of 75-foot ‘Rosie’

by Christopher Vinasco, Bay City News July 3, 2026July 3, 2026

The sidewalk surrounding ‘Rosie the Redwood’ a heritage redwood tree, is broken, cracked and pushed up in the McDonald District in Santa Rosa on Monday, June 29, 2026. Neighbors are fighting to save the heritage redwood tree at the center of a legal battle after the city issued a permit for its removal over the cracked and lifted sidewalk. (Tom Murphy via Bay City News)

A 75-FOOT REDWOOD TREE has shaded a corner of Santa Rosa for generations. Now nearby landowners have a city-approved permit to cut it down, but hundreds of neighbors and supporters are behind a formal appeal asking the city to stop the removal.

The tree, which neighbors call “Rosie,” stands on Spring Street in the McDonald Historic District. Rosie is tall enough to clear the surrounding rooflines and has roots that have cracked and lifted the sidewalk beside it.

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