Trees

Around 10 years ago the residents of Balboa Peninsula were stunned to awaken one morning to find the city cutting down all of its grand old ficus trees. At the time a Laguna Beach councilmember was quoted in the paper saying, "We could never do that here, could you imagine the uproar?" Now it appears our city leaders have decided to do just that. I received a map of downtown, which shows eight trees to be replaced in the downtown area. Three of the four are ficus trees on Mermaid Street.

The Laguna Beach City Council could decide Tuesday whether to remove eight trees within the downtown area as part of the city's Sidewalk Repair Project. If the council approves the tree replacements, work would be done within the next month, according to a staff report. Last month, workers started replacing several sections of the sidewalk where the trees are present and have caused damage, according to a staff report. The trees have caused lifting in the sidewalk or are leaning because they are too close to buildings for their size, Public Works Director Steve May wrote in an email.

A group of residents have dubbed the removal of nine ficus trees from downtown streets as "The Chainsaw Massacre. " Seven speakers voiced their anguish and anger about the removal of the trees at Tuesday's City Council meeting. They urged more prudent pruning and aesthetic consideration in the future - rather than destruction or replacement - to preserve the character of downtown Laguna. "It's true, as Joni Mitchell sang, 'you don't know what you've got till it's gone,'" Barbara MacGillivray said.

In response to Ms. Blurock's letter dated Aug. 3, "The 'old spirit' of Laguna is still alive," it is incredible to me how one homeowner can hold the entire neighborhood hostage. Her "large grove of Eucalyptus trees" in North Laguna are a danger to nearby homes, pedestrians and motorists. This is not the first time that a big section of one of her very large, 60-year-old trees has fallen, nor will it be the last. I hope Ms. Blurock has adequate homeowners insurance, and the city has sufficient funds to defend its hands-off position regarding these trees, when one falls and hits someone like it occurred in Newport Beach.

-- Barbara Diamond The fate of two endangered eucalpti in the Thurston Park neighborhood hangs on a report by a consulting arborist, hired by the city. City officials took emergency action Tuesday night to engage an expert to determine whether the two 80-foot trees had been so severely damaged during grading for a new home that they would have to be removed or could be saved. The city's consultant visited the site Thursday morning and was expected to report back the city's Community Development Department by today.

Steve Kawaratani "It will never rain roses: when we want to have more roses we must plant more trees." -- George Eliot "You can always tell when a man's well informed. His views are pretty much like your own." -- Louie Morris I can always tell when it is about to rain, I can feel a subtle change and shift in the wind. Like Catharine and most of us, I have not actually seen the wind. I depend on hearing the leaves rustling in trees, watching palms sway and clouds hurrying by. And delight in watching raindrops splash horizontally into the windows from our bed. This is the time to prune your trees, particularly pine, eucalyptus and deciduous trees.

CATHARINE COOPER I read the news aloud to anyone who will listen, "She planted 30 million trees, and she won the Nobel Peace Prize." Wangari Mathaai and the organization she founded, the Green Belt Movement (GBM), planted 30 million trees in Kenya during the last 30 years. For this accomplishment, along with myriad others, including the advocacy of women's rights, broad based educational initiatives, development of the tool of reforestation as a vehicle to stave off tribal warfare, and an expansion of the foundation of democracy, Mathaai was awarded the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize.

I strongly disagree with your stance on views. (?Take a look at views,? April 3.) I vote for trees over ocean views: towering, glorious, mountains of green jutting into the blue sky. Here?s some advice to anyone whose life is so empty they sit around lamenting a tree-obstructed view of the ocean: Open your door, walk out and head to the ocean until you at last find an unobstructed view of the big blue. Once there start counting your blessings. Finally, send me the location.

"Nothing is so beautiful as spring..." -- Gerard Manley Hopkins "On a clear day/You can see forever." -- Alan Jay Lerner I was surprised, like many of us, by this week's drizzle teaser. But now, despite a very dry winter, we expect spring to March in. Nothing is quite as beautiful as a sunny spring day in Laguna, unless it is a sunnier and warmer spring day in the Baja town of Loreto. Have you noticed how much taller and fuller your neighbor's trees have become?

Artist David Nelson, who has been with the Sawdust Art Festival since 1969, has never missed a Winter Fantasy. “For 17 years, we’ve work really hard to make sure it’s not the Sawdust with Christmas lights,” Nelson said. Although the lights are plentiful, the art show, which boasts 170 exhibiting artists this year, is not just a popular alternative for mall shopping. “It’s become a really wonderful, happening community event,” Nelson said.

The Steering Committee of the Citizens for View Preservation and Restoration (CVPR) would like to respond to the inaccurate and misleading statements made in May 29 letters from Lenny Vincent and Anne Cox. 1. We do not condone "intimidation and harassment" at public meetings. We encourage a civilized discussion and we respect all points of view. 2. We believe a "common sense" view ordinance is feasible and that views and trees can co-exist peacefully in Laguna Beach. 3. For decades, our city has ignored the growing view obstruction problem and sadly too many good neighbors are now engaged in acrimonious fights over views and trees.

A group of residents have dubbed the removal of nine ficus trees from downtown streets as "The Chainsaw Massacre. " Seven speakers voiced their anguish and anger about the removal of the trees at Tuesday's City Council meeting. They urged more prudent pruning and aesthetic consideration in the future - rather than destruction or replacement - to preserve the character of downtown Laguna. "It's true, as Joni Mitchell sang, 'you don't know what you've got till it's gone,'" Barbara MacGillivray said.

Damaged downtown sidewalks were being repaired this week with some of the trees that did the damage set to be replaced. The City Council approved at its April 9 meeting the replacement of six ficus trees and one eucalyptus, with the replacement species to be determined pending a recommendation by the city's landscape architect. Removal of one other tree was delayed, and no timeline was given for when the new trees will be chosen. "Probably another 50 trees have outgrown their space, but we didn't recommend replacing 50 trees," said Public Works Director Steve May. City Manager John Pietig asked the council to weigh in on the tree replacement because of concerns raised by Councilwoman Toni Iseman that the project was not reviewed by the Planning Commission.

The Laguna Beach City Council gave up four parking spaces to save some trees that are in the way of an approved sidewalk on the east side of Laguna Canyon Frontage Road, still keeping the road wide enough to be safe. Neighbors of Frontage Road objected to a recommendation by the Planning Commission and city staff to remove the trees in order to make room for an American Disabilities Act-compliant, 200-foot-long sidewalk south of Woodland Drive and adequate street width for the passage of emergency vehicles.

Around 10 years ago the residents of Balboa Peninsula were stunned to awaken one morning to find the city cutting down all of its grand old ficus trees. At the time a Laguna Beach councilmember was quoted in the paper saying, "We could never do that here, could you imagine the uproar?" Now it appears our city leaders have decided to do just that. I received a map of downtown, which shows eight trees to be replaced in the downtown area. Three of the four are ficus trees on Mermaid Street.

The Laguna Beach City Council could decide Tuesday whether to remove eight trees within the downtown area as part of the city's Sidewalk Repair Project. If the council approves the tree replacements, work would be done within the next month, according to a staff report. Last month, workers started replacing several sections of the sidewalk where the trees are present and have caused damage, according to a staff report. The trees have caused lifting in the sidewalk or are leaning because they are too close to buildings for their size, Public Works Director Steve May wrote in an email.

A standing-room-only crowd crammed into the first meeting of Mayor Kelly's Boyd's hand-picked View Equity Committee held Tuesday at the Third Street Community Center. About 40 residents came to share their complaints about view loss, uncooperative neighbors, impacts on insurance, safety hazards and what the majority felt was a wishy-washy ordinance to preserve views. Tree defenders were in the minority. "There is always tension between people who really, really love views and people who really, really love trees, but I am not sure it has to be either/or," said Larry Nokes, a practicing Laguna Beach attorney and resident and named by Boyd named to chair the committee.

City officials will take another look at Laguna's View Preservation Ordinance. The City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve Mayor Kelly Boyd's proposal to form an ad hoc committee to review the ordinance. The committee will include six at-large members and a representative from the Design Review Board and Planning Commission, which will be appointed by Boyd, who will serve as chair. "I want to put teeth in an ordinance that would work and would stand up in court," Boyd said.

Only in Laguna do carolers compete with the sounds of the waves, children sit on Santa's lap as the sun sets over the Pacific and holiday-goers need nothing more than a light sweater in the snow. Montage Laguna Beach celebrated its third annual Holiday Tree Lighting and Community Open House on Monday evening with live music, warm drinks and, of course, a visit from Santa. "I thought it was beautiful - a California Christmas," said Laura Orlich, of Tucson, who was visiting family.