Temporary injunction withdrawn
DOWNTOWN The temporary hold-up in City Hall’s plan to remove and transplant more than 54 ficus trees from Second and Fourth streets could cost the city millions of dollars in grant money for the larger streetscape improvement project.
The estimated $8.2 million Second and Fourth streets Pedestrian and Streetscape Improvement Project, which calls for the uprooting of 23 structurally deficient ficus trees and the relocation of 31 healthy trees, is being partially supported by grant funding, including approximately $2.3 million in Federal Transportation Enhancement Activities (TEA) funds.
The project was reviewed by Caltrans this summer and any changes to the final plan — including a mandated retention of the ficus trees — could mean a loss of the TEA funds, according to a city staff report in August.
City Engineer Tony Antich is waiting to hear back from Caltrans as to the status of the TEA money if, in fact, the 54 ficus trees are to remain.
The ficus trees will stay put until the Landmarks Commission decides whether it should historically landmark all of the ficus trees along Second and Fourth streets in Downtown Santa Monica, which is expected to take place in the coming months. In an attempt to bar City Hall from moving forward with the tree removal portion of the project, the Santa Monica Treesavers filed a landmarks nomination application earlier this month.
The trees were also being protected via a temporary court-ordered injunction, which was to be heard on Friday, but the Santa Monica Treesavers withdrew the motion on Wednesday because the ficus trees portion of the city project was already being stalled due to the landmarks application, said Jerry Rubin, who heads the ad-hoc group.
Work towards removing the trees was scheduled to begin on Oct. 8.
The tree removal and transplantation constitutes only a small portion — about $600,000 — of the overall streetscape improvement project, which would enhance lighting, fix broken sidewalks and add curb bump-outs on Second and Fourth streets from Colorado Avenue to Wilshire Boulevard. Each vacated ficus tree plot was to be replaced with a pair of ginkgo biloba trees.
The project is being funded by eight different sources, including approximately $800,000 from city coffers and another $2.5 million from the Redevelopment Agency, Antich said.
“We’re keeping (Caltrans) informed, but we’ve asked them what it does to the funding,” Antich said Wednesday.
If the trees are ultimately landmarked, extra costs could be tacked on to the project because the architect would have to redesign the sidewalk element, Antich added. In the current plan, the street lighting is based on the spacing of the new ginkgo biloba trees. Antich is waiting to hear back from the architect on the pricing for a possible new design.
The possible losses in funding has been a concern, said Mayor Richard Bloom.
“The delay hasn’t resulted in any out-of-pocket losses to the city,” he said. “As things continue to be delayed, that could change, and that ends up costing residents of Santa Monica money. That’s not a good thing.”
Meanwhile, construction work has already begun for other portions of the project, including saw cutting and preparations to demolish the sidewalk. Crews have also begun installing conduits for the new street lights, said Bob Petri, the manager for PBS&J, which is co-managing the construction project with Civil Source. Work has been confined to Second Street, from Santa Monica Boulevard to Colorado Avenue, and will be done in phases.
“We just had to rearrange our path of work that we’re doing,” Petri said. “We’ve just substituted different things in place of what we (originally) needed to do.”
THE FIGHT CONTINUES The Treesavers held another peace rally on Tuesday, this time in front of City Hall in anticipation of the City Council meeting that night.
“I think the trees are beneficial in so many ways,” said Sal Greenberger, a Santa Monica resident who joined the fight three weeks ago. “There’s no reason constituting cutting down these trees or moving them.”
The rally, which was held in the midst of a fast by some of the environmental activists, included a moment of silence for the victims of the Malibu Canyon fire and a musical performance.
The Treesavers seemed cautiously optimistic that their cause would prevail. Some said they believe the City Councilmembers are seeing the light.
“City Council is really beginning to recognize that people feel strongly about this,” said Dan Jansenson, an architect on Fourth Street. “I’m hopeful City Council will come around.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 25, 2007. Read the original PDF.