Residents continue fight to save ficus trees

June Casagrande

BALBOA PENINSULA -- Residents who want to save 25 ficus trees on Main

Street say they will take their cause to court.

A small battalion of impassioned speakers Tuesday took turns at the

lectern to plead both sides of the issue. They spoke for more than an

hour even though last month’s council decision to remove the trees is

basically irreversible, at least by the council. The courts, though, are

a different matter.

Residents who want the trees saved from imminent destruction say the

canopy, the shade, the beauty and the ambience the trees create make them

too valuable to tear up. This is especially true because some of the

trees are designated as “special” city trees, they say.

But others are just as passionate in their belief that the trees must

go. Members of the business community, as well as residents, say the

trees’ beauty doesn’t compensate for the costly damage the fast-growing

roots cause to sewer lines and even building foundations.

The warring camps turned out in hopes that a recent move by Mayor Tod

Ridgeway would allow the council to revisit the issue. But, as the city

attorney told Ridgeway, the matter has already been voted on and it’s

beyond council members’ power to call it up for reconsideration.

“I was beyond my authority,” Ridgeway explained to the residents who

turned out in hopes of saving the trees. “It has been heard, it has been

voted on.”

Their only recourse, Ridgeway explained: take it to the courts -- a

suggestion some are taking to heart. A representative of the newly

created Balboa Arbor Foundation spoke to solicit donations for the

group’s legal fund to fight the decision. Resident Jan Vandersloot, who

has led the charge to save the trees, demanded assurances from the

council that the trees would not be removed before Sept. 15. That date

has been set as the start of construction work on the second phase of

Balboa Village renovations. He said the group wanted assurance that the

trees would not disappear during the time they needed to take legal

action.

The public comment period of the meeting took on a circus-like air as

audience members applauded and booed opposing speakers. And the unruly

proceedings were topped off by a musical performance. Banging out the

tune of “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” on an electronic computer keyboard at the

lectern, Gabe Green sang custom-tailored lyrics sung from the perspective

of one of the Main Street ficus:

“I don’t mean to complain or whine, but my roots are here and that’s

the bottom line. . . . If the pipes are broke and leaking, it’s not

because of me, so tie a yellow ribbon ‘round the Main Street ficus tree.”