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# Environmentalists upset over city council’s snub
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/environmentalists-upset-over-city-councils-snub/
- Published: 2002-04-03T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T00:13:21.000Z
- Author: Andrew Fixmer
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Deanna Maran Ancient tree group takes its fight throughout California*

There won’t be any official tree hugging happening in Santa Monica.

The eco-friendly Santa Monica City Council voted last week against endorsing an initiative designed to protect old-growth trees.

Only Mayor Mike Feinstein and Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McKeown, both Green Party activists, endorsed the “Save California’s Remaining Ancient Trees” campaign, while the other four council members argued the cause had little relevance in Santa Monica.

“I just don’t think it has to do with city business,” said Councilman Ken Genser. “Even though we could be concerned about an issue, it doesn’t mean the city council needs to get involved in it.”

> “I just don’t think it has to do with city business. Even though we could be concerned about an issue, it doesn’t mean the city council needs to get involved in it.” — — KEN GENSER Santa Monica City Councilman

The initiative, which is slated for the November 2002 ballot if the group can gather the needed 420,000 signatures by April 21, would prohibit logging of trees that were alive before 1850 — the year California became a state.

City council members Pam O’Connor, Herb Katz, Bob Holbrook and Genser argued there weren’t any 150-year-old trees in Santa Monica, or in Southern California. Councilman Richard Bloom was absent from the meeting.

But when it came time for a vote, Genser abstained.

During the council’s debate over whether to endorse the initiative, Feinstein said the city council had unamiously endorsed a similar federal initiative in 2000 that would have protected all forests from logging — not just California.

“The contradiction, if not hypocrisy, of council members supporting the previous measure and their lack of support for this one should make any one question their stated reasons and wonder about their real motivations behind their negative votes,” Feinstein said.

McKeown, who introduced the initiative for consideration, said the council’s lack of support for the environmental cause suggests a disconnect between Santa Monica voters and their elected council members.

“The argument that old-growth redwoods don’t matter to Santa Monicans, because none grow here, takes a chainsaw to logic,” McKeown said. “Residents have been clamoring for a local tree protection ordinance, and these ancient heritage trees are a resource for all Californians.”

Genser said in other instances the city council endorsed environmental causes because they directly affected the city or the way it does business. He cited a city council vote a few years ago that forbids the city from using paper products made from the wood pulp of old-growth trees because “that directly affected how we did business.”

“I urge people to support this issue personally,” Genser said. “There’s a lot of good causes in the world, but the city council can’t support them all.”

Environmentalists argue the majority of the state’s population lives in the region and to win a statewide ballot measure they need the support of Los Angeles-area voters.

“In order to pass this initiative a majority of the voters have to support it, and the vast majority of the population lives in the southern part of the state,” said Susan Moloney, the initiative’s spokeswoman. “And just because (the trees) are not very, very close doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy them and it doesn’t mean that we all have the opportunity to protect the fate of those trees.”

Moloney said her group is appearing before boards, commissions and councils that are sympathetic to environmental issues, like Santa Monica. In the coming weeks, they will appear before councils in Hawthorne and Santa Cruz.

“Quite frankly, (Santa Monica) has a reputation for being an environmentally friendly city,” said Moloney. “It goes without question that we thought they would support something like this.”

Moloney compared the situation to a coal factory opening up near the border of Santa Monica, threatening to pollute its air and damage its quality of life. Then, she said, city council members would surely react.

“So while these ancient forests are not really close,” she said, “the benefits are there.”

Now the group is taking the fight to the streets, asking concerned residents to pick up petitions at Patagonia and at the local Green Party headquarters. Many environmental groups have endorsed the initiative and will help with petition efforts in Santa Monica.

“Because we’re doing it all volunteer right now, people have to take the initiative to do something on their own,” Moloney said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to afford to pay people real soon to get out there.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 3, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/040302.pdf?ref=smdp.com)