Newport seeks to get to root of tree-view issue
June Casagrande
Trying to balance the concerns of Corona del Mar residents worried
about their views with the orders from a lawsuit, council members on
Tuesday instructed the Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission to
begin the delicate process of reviewing the city’s tree policies.
Residents in parts of the city with great views, especially Corona
del Mar, have mobilized to persuade the city to not revise the tree
policy in any way that might jeopardize their scenic views.
“This isn’t Tree City USA, this is View City USA,” resident Barry
Allen told council members.
Balboa Arbor Society President Linda Grant and Vice President Jan
Vandersloot assured residents that they have no intention of harming
anyone’s view.
“We are not here to be militant and to take away your views,”
Grant told residents in attendance.
Her words were taken to heart by council members. They modified
their motion to forbid the commission from changing any provisions of
the city’s tree policy that preserves views.
That policy, commonly called the G-1 policy, allows residents to
pay out of pocket for extra trimming of city trees that threaten to
obstruct their views, a practice City Manager Homer Bludau said is
common. The policy also allows residents to “reforest” some city
trees, meaning they can in some cases remove large trees if they take
on the expense of replacing them with new trees.
“The reforestation policies have been expanded so that anyone can
reforest a tree for almost any reason,” Vandersloot said. “We’re
objecting to an uneven application of this G-1 policy.”
As part of an agreement, the city agreed to review its tree
policies as a concession in a lawsuit with the Balboa Arbor Society.
The society filed an emergency suit against the city last fall to
stop the cutting of ficus trees in Balboa Village.
On Tuesday, they made good on the settlement by instructing the
commission to create a subcommittee to review the policy. And though
there’s some support among council members to streamline current
rules and clean up some inconsistencies, there doesn’t seem to be
much support for revamping the laws to further protect trees,
especially if it would threaten views.
“I support the G-1 policy as it exists,” Councilman Tod Ridgeway
said. “If we can clean up inconsistencies, great. But I don’t think
that it’s broken.”
If the commission decides that changes should be made, those
changes would have to come before the City Council for approval.
* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport.
Reach her at (949) 574-4232 or june.casagrande@latimes.com.
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