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.