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# ———— EDITORIAL ———— Make like a tree and leave it alone
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/editorial-make-like-a-tree-and-leave-it-alone/
- Published: 2008-02-21T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T18:38:09.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Promenade, #archive-import

While the Daily Press would never advocate for the destruction of healthy, mature trees, it is time for the Santa Monica Treesavers to abandon their efforts to save a number of Ficus trees on Second and Fourth streets, which are slated for removal as part of a badly needed streetscape improvement project.

That means dropping the legal challenge filed by the Treesavers, which has put much of the project on hold, jeopardizing federal funding. No one likes litigation, so let’s drop it. Second and Fourth street businesses, some of which have supported the Treesavers, have long desired improvements to remain competitive with the Third Street Promenade, and any further delay potentially places more of a burden on them.

Those streets need to be more pedestrian friendly with better lighting, wider sidewalks and fewer sections of uneven concrete that have caused people to trip and sue City Hall, diverting taxpayer money away from more important things like public safety, after-school programs and sustainable initiatives. Large Ficus trees create wonderful canopies along residential streets and help keep the climate cool while helping to clean the air, but when it comes to major thoroughfares there needs to be more visibility and limited liability. Visitors need to be able to read street signs and the names of businesses when walking down the street. Presently, the dense canopy blocks store signage.

The Treesavers tried valiantly to convince the Landmarks Commission and the City Council to grant the trees in question landmark status, and they should be commended for their efforts, which represented true grassroots activism that makes Santa Monica an attractive place to live. Without them, this issue would most likely have not gotten a second, third and fourth look.

That said, the Treesavers were not successful in changing the minds of the powers that be. It’s time to move on. It would be better if the Treesavers focused their positive energy on other worthwhile causes, such as protecting the greatest natural resource in Santa Monica, that being the ocean and our beaches, which are a much bigger draw than the trees.

The urban forest seems to be in good hands with Community Forester Walt Warriner at the helm and a council that has gone out of its way to ensure that trees are protected throughout the city. There is even talk of offering incentives to owners so that trees on private property are protected.

In the end, we are only talking about 54 trees out of a total of 153 Ficus located in the project area. Of those 54, only 23 will be destroyed because they have been deemed structurally deficient due to poor pruning practices of the past. The other 31 will be relocated elsewhere in the city, some will even be replanted along the same two corridors. The streetscape project will actually increase the number of trees in Downtown. For each Ficus tree removed, city staff will replace them with two young Ginkgoes. We need this type of bio-diversity to ensure that we have a replacement cycle that works and doesn’t leave us with blocks of old trees that have to be replaced all at once.

While it may be difficult to imagine Second and Fourth streets with fewer Ficus, just think of what the streets will look like in five or 10 years when the Ginkgoes are in full bloom during the summer, or covered with white lights during the holiday season. Give it some time and it could be that the new streetscape will be more attractive than the current one, creating an enjoyable experience for all.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 21, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/022108.pdf?ref=smdp.com)