By DAILY PRESS STAFF
CITY HALL The so-called treesavers will bring the issue of whether 153 mature ficus trees in Downtown Santa Monica should be landmarked before the City Council tonight after similar efforts failed before the Landmarks Commission last month.
The Santa Monica Treesavers filed an appeal to the commission’s decision to deny the landmarks application on Jan. 14, bringing the matter to the very same council that nearly unanimously approved an $8.2 million streetscape improvement plan that spurred the environmental activists’ efforts last summer.
Along with beautifying and enhancing both Second and Fourth streets from Colorado Avenue to Wilshire Boulevard, adding curb cuts and improving lighting, the streetscape construction project includes the removal of 23 trees identified as structurally deficient and the transplantation of 31 trees to elsewhere in the city, including parts of Downtown.
The tree portion of the project was halted when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge filed a restraining order against City Hall in early October, just days before construction was set to commence. A few weeks later, the treesavers filed a landmarks application, nominating all of the trees in the project area for designation — an unprecedented move that basically barred City Hall from touching the trees until a hearing took place. Several trees elsewhere in the city have been designated as landmarks in the past, including the bay fig tree at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel.
The streetscape project has continued since then while the trees have remained put, which according to city officials, has jeopardized federal and state funding for the project.
During the Landmarks Commission hearing, the treesavers argued the historical and cultural significance of the trees, tying the planting of the ficuses to former resident Jacqueline Girion, whom they said was instrumental in getting the trees planted, a symbol of the environmental and women’s movements.
Much like it did last month when the landmarks application came before the commission, city staff is also recommending the City Council deny the appeal because it does not meet any of the six criteria required to meet designation.
“Within the context of the thousands of ficus trees in the city, neither grouping of ficus trees or their associated linear canopies on Second and Fourth streets possess characteristics of noteworthy or aesthetic interest or value sufficient to warrant city landmark designation based on factors such as historic association, age, size, condition, or rarity that have been consistently applied in previous landmark tree evaluations,” according to the staff report.
The treesavers are planning to hold a rally at 5 p.m. in front of City Hall shortly before the council is set to begin its meeting at 5:45 p.m.
If the council denies the appeal then the landmarks application dies there. The treesavers are expected to meet with city officials later this week in a courtroom in downtown Los Angeles to again discuss the restraining order, which was put on hold when the treesavers filed for landmark status.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 19, 2008. Read the original PDF.