Newport trims its controversial tree policy

Alicia Robinson

Council members pruned the city’s controversial tree policy Tuesday

night, giving the city manager final say over “problem trees.”

The hotly debated revisions, adopted Tuesday, pleased those who

say it takes too long to remove trees that are ripping up sidewalks.

But environmentalists fear it will give the city free rein to rip up

trees.

City Manager Homer Bludau now has final authority to remove

“problem” trees and in some cases trees with 24-inch root bases will

be used to replace larger trees that are removed. The new guidelines

do not create a separate policy for view communities, as was proposed

earlier.

The city owns about 40,000 trees valued at $70 million, city

General Services Director Dave Niederhaus said. Annual maintenance

costs for the urban forest are about $2 million, of which $1.3

million goes to repairing sidewalks, curbs and water and sewer lines

that are damaged by intrusive tree roots.

Niederhaus said the changes will streamline the process for

residents who want a tree removed when it is too big, dying, or

causing damage to sidewalks or sewer lines. Allowing smaller trees as

replacements also will save money for residents, who in many cases

must foot the bill for tree replacement.

The old tree policy was a source of complaints, with residents

saying it took too long to get rid of a tree even when its roots were

breaking up sidewalks or invading sewer lines.

Complaints also came from people living in view communities who

thought trees that were too tall or wide spoiled the reason they

moved near the coast.

Residents from several homeowners’ associations spoke in favor of

the policy changes.

Kay Mortenson of the Peninsula Point Homeowners’ Assn. said the

revisions will be an improvement.

“We see it as being more balanced,” she said. “We welcome a more

clearly defined role for the homeowners’ associations.”

But a few residents feared the new policy would make it too easy

to get rid of trees. City officials could declare certain trees to be

problems for any reason and then take them out and not replace them,

residents worried.

Jan Vandersloot, a member of the Balboa Arbor Society that filed a

lawsuit against the city in 2002 over the cutting of ficus trees,

said the organization still opposes the tree policy changes. Under

the new policy the city could remove more than 470 trees a year, he

said.

“Everything the view communities want to do is already in the

existing tree policy,” Vandersloot said.

The city probably could have grown a few trees in the time it

devoted to revising its tree policy. An ad hoc tree committee formed

in March 2003 to address the policy held seven public hearings and

took more than 16 hours of testimony, committee chairwoman Debra

Allen said.

Allen urged council members to approve the policy revisions, which

they ultimately did in a unanimous vote.

“I’d like the chance to see if we can make this thing work,

because I think we can,” she said.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

alicia.robinson@latimes.com.