By BILL BAUER is branching out at
YOU’D THINK WITH ALL THE HUE AND cry, the removal of some 23 structurally unsound ficus trees from the downtown Bayside area was the end of the world.
The renovation of Second and Fourth Streets between Wilshire Boulevard and Broadway has been in the works for years. The Downtown Urban Design Plan (approved 5 to 1 by City Council on Oct. 11, 2005) called for “The replacement of every other ficus tree” because “The density of the ficus trees makes the streets dark in the daytime and difficult to light at night.” Inspired by City Councilman, Kevin McKeown’s lone veto, local environmentalists mobilized to "Save the Trees.”
City staff responded in late 2006 by recommending reducing the number of trees to be removed to 54 ficus. Planning staff determined that,“31 ficus trees will be removed and replanted elsewhere in the city; 23 ficus trees, that have been identified as ‘diseased’ beyond their useful life or unable to survive a transplant, will be removed and converted to compost..."
The unofficial guardians of our canopy call themselves Santa Monica T r e e s a v e r s. T h e i r w e b s i t e (www.treesavers.blogspot.com) trumpets, "T he City of Santa Monica plans to destroy or remove over 50 beautiful, large canopy ficus trees..." SM Treesavers has issued proclamations that claim, “Despite earlier statements to the public that 23 of the 54 ficus trees on Second and Fourth streets are “diseased,” City Forester, Walt Warriner and the City of Santa Monica no longer make that claim."
I called Warriner and he explained, "The word ‘diseased’ has been misused by a lot of people. The real issue is the decay that has resulted from root pruning for sidewalk repairs, or injuries to the canopy from oversized vehicles that ultimately affects the structural integrity. Most of the 23 trees slated for removal are structurally unstable." So despite SM Treesaver’s parsing of words, Warriner still maintains that 23 ficus are structurally unsound and should be removed.
SM Treesavers blog, “Walk along Second and Fourth streets and you will see NO signs of any of these criteria (internal decay, extensive root pruning, etc.) being met. Instead, you will see well-kept, magnificent trees, approximately 40 years old, with a lifespan of 150 years, bringing much needed tree canopy coverage to the downtown area.”
Warriner counters, “The average lay person looks at a tree and sees the trunk, branches and a green leafy canopy -- and thinks that the tree is a healthy specimen. An experienced Arborist sees defects that could be dangerous or that affect the structural stability of the tree and thinks ‘I wouldn’t park my car under that tree’." Nobody, especially Warriner, wants to see healthy trees removed and converted to compost, but if trees are compromised or unsafe, the city must remove them.
I’ll bet that none of those advocating saving the compromised ficus have arboreal experience or have inspected the damage with a tree expert for themselves. But, that hasn’t stopped SM Treesaver’s spokesperson and “spiritual leader," a self-appointed, publicity-hungry nudnick (who I won’t name), from going around town, spreading rumors and inflaming the situation to attract press attention to himself.
Misinformation and innuendo have spread like saplings in a forest. One neighborhood activist sent out e-mails saying that 70 ficus trees were going to be cut down. The Santa Monica Democratic Club emailed, “The City is going to remove the ficus trees along Second Street and Fourth Street downtown, but our residential community (and possibly businesses) oppose this."
Nobody’s more cynical about City Hall than me. But, City staff has bent over backwards to appease residents and save as many trees as possible. Hints of a nefarious plot to wantonly denude the canopy are absurd. It’s also too bad that real issues such as curb bumpouts and other traffic mitigations associated with this project have been totally ignored.
Warriner told me,“Of the 31 ficus trees to be relocated, some will go to other parts of Fourth and Second streets.” He confirmed that although the city is removing 23 trees representing about 15 percent of the canopy on those streets, “We’re replacing those trees ‘two for one’ with ’bigger’ specimen Ginkgoes which are about 15 feet high and already have 7 feet or larger canopies."
All this seems to be “much ado about nothing.” And, with all the false rumors and hokied-up hysteria, some good and caring residents are being mislead and co-opted by nonsense. So, to avoid patently laughable and inflated rhetoric, learn the truth. Check the city website: http://www.smgov.net/osm/forest.htm -- especially the “fact sheet."
Despite the appearance of being like mighty oaks, some downtown trees present a real public safety hazard. The rush to save these potentially dangerous ficus is barking up the wrong tree.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 1, 2007. Read the original PDF.