Activists vow to continue fight to save trees
DOWNTOWN It wasn’t exactly the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but the sight of fallen ficus trees, cut into bits and pieces, was enough to make a group of tree activists scream.
Just two days after the California Appellate Court rejected the Santa Monica Treesavers’ petition challenging a controversial tree removal plan, City Hall removed 23 structurally deficient trees from Second and Fourth streets early Friday morning.
The downed ficus trees, with canopies sprawled on the ground, signaled the culmination of a nearly year-long battle. But the war for the ficus trees doesn’t appear to be over just yet as some Treesavers hinted at chaining themselves to the remaining seven specimens slated for relocation.
“I’m in total disbelief,” Christen MacDonald, a member of the Treesavers said, standing on Second Street and staring at the tree removal scene before her. “I am just so angry right now, I can’t believe it.”
City officials said it was their responsibility to public safety to remove the trees, pointing out the ficuses were determined to be structurally unstable and posed a hazard to the community.
“We wanted to make sure we minimized the impact on the public so we did it early in the morning,” Kate Vernez, the assistant to the city manager on governmental relations, said. “We were hoping to recapture some of the seven months of delay.”
The trees, part of a federal and state funded beautification project, were set to be removed in early October but work was postponed because of a series of legal challenges by the Treesavers. Vernez estimated that the delays have cost taxpayers more than $100,000 and that $3 million in federal and regional funds were at risk. The figure doesn’t include money lost in legal fees.
The ficus removal came as a surprise to many of the Treesavers who claimed City Hall didn’t provide notice to the public beforehand.Vernez said that removal notices were posted on the trees.
The Treesavers gathered in front of the NRDC building on Second Street to remember the lost trees, their memorial taking place as crews were still clearing the waste from the early morning aftermath, some activists leaning down and feeling the dry mulch in their hands, some sobbing, others joining hands in protest.
“It makes me very angry and I love my city but I do not like the elected representatives who have voted against us,” Michele Modglin, a Treesaver, said.
The project was approved nearly unanimously by the City Council last summer, citing safety concerns with the structurally deficient trees. Councilmember Kevin McKeown was the lone vote in opposition to the project, arguing that the $600,000 set aside just for the tree removal and relocation would be better suited elsewhere.
“From the start, I opposed the plan to remove healthy trees with public money,” McKeown said. “Anyone visiting our downtown today can see the massive public outcry against cutting down our trees was simply ignored.”
The beautification project called for the removal of 54 ficus trees from Second and Fourth Street between Wilshire Boulevard and Colorado Avenue. About 31 trees were slated for relocation to other places in the city, including to other parts of Downtown Santa Monica, but city officials recently lowered that number to seven. Those seven trees will be relocated to the Palisades Garden Walk on the former Rand Corp. site.
City officials have yet to announce when those seven trees will be relocated.
The streetscape project also includes sidewalk improvements, lighting enhancements and pedestrian friendly elements, including curb bump-outs.
“At the end of the project there will be 254 trees in the eight block area,” Vernez said. “We’re planting 120 new trees and there are 120 ficus trees that remain.”
“The lighting, crosswalk and sidewalk improvements are going to be substantial and the project will benefit the public for decades to come,” she added.
In the mean time, Treesavers are renewing calls for the City Council to form an Urban Forestry Commission to advise on proposals for tree removal and planting. Such commissions exist in other cities, including Davis.
“I wish there was more I could’ve done to save these trees,” Jerry Rubin, one of the founders of the Treesavers, said. “We can’t be out here chainsawing trees and surprising people.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 17, 2008. Read the original PDF.