Timetable not yet set for downtown tree removal
The 54 ficus trees causing a stir in Downtown Santa Monica could soon be on the outs after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled on Thursday that a lawsuit against City Hall over alleged violations of state environmental laws was filed too late.
Judge Ann Jones determined during a hearing in Downtown Los Angeles that the statute of limitations during which time a lawsuit could be filed challenging the Second and Fourth Streets Streetscape Improvement Project ended in mid-2006. The Santa Monica Treesavers last October filed a lawsuit alleging City Hall violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the removal and transplantation of 54 ficus trees in the downtown area.
As per state law, the 180-day clock during which time a suit could be filed began ticking in October 2005 when city officials determined the project was CEQA exempt. But according to Tom Nitti, the Treesavers attorney, the statute of limitations should have started in August 2007 when the City Council approved the project.
The judge’s determination that the Treesavers were more than a year too late in its lawsuit essentially mooted the preliminary injunction, paving the way for City Hall to commence with the tree removal aspect of the project, which was originally slated to have happened in early October but was derailed when a judge issued a temporary restraining order.
City officials do not yet have a timetable for the tree removal and transplantation. Last week, City Hall agreed it would wait until the hearing on Thursday to begin any work on the ficus trees.
The project, in addition to beautifying Second and Fourth streets by enhancing lighting, adding curb extensions and repairing sidewalks, also calls for the removal of 23 ficus trees that have been deemed as structurally deficient, and transplanting 31 trees to elsewhere in the city. Each empty ficus plot will be planted with two ginkgo biloba trees.
Kate Vernez, assistant to the City Manager, said on Thursday that city officials will conduct careful logistical planning in moving forward, reconnecting with the contractor to determine what the next step should be.
Vernez added that the public process was honored throughout the formulation of the project over the past 11 years, including environmental reviews in 1997 and 2005.
369,“At all times the city fully informed the public about what it was we were doing and what the vision for Second and Fourth streets was,” Vernez said.
The court hearing drew a few Treesavers to Downtown Los Angeles, showing their support of the ficus trees they have championed over the past half year.
It was an emotional hearing for some, the decision causing one Treesaver to shed some tears in the hallway outside of the courtroom.
“We exhausted every possible means to engage the city in dialogue,” Louise Steiner, who fasted last year for the trees, said. “We wanted to sit at a table and have a reasonable discussion but we have not gotten an answer.”
Gillian Ware, a Santa Monica resident who splits her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, said she was hopeful in coming to the courthouse that the judge would rule in favor of the Treesavers.
4C6,“We don’t think it was a fair decision,” Ware said.
Nitti said he is exploring other legal options, including filing an appeal to a higher court. The Treesavers have also vowed to chain themselves to the trees once construction work commences and even held a “tree defense” workshop on Wednesday night in anticipation of a possible unfavorable decision by the judge.
The lawsuit was just one of a series of measures that the Treesavers have taken since the City Council approved the project last August, including most recently, attempting to landmark all of the ficus trees on Second and Fourth streets in Downtown Santa Monica.
The landmark attempt was denied by both the Landmarks Commission and subsequently, the City Council.
“The Treesavers continue to do everything possible to save these trees,” Jerry Rubin, one of the leaders of the pack, said. “We feel we have the support of majority of residents and businesses in the community.”
Jump hedline: Timetable not set yet for tree removal
Suggested pullquote: “At all times the city fully informed the public about what it was we were doing and what the vision for Second and Fourth streets was.”
Kate Vernez
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 29, 2008. Read the original PDF.