Eucalyptuses Get Reprieve in Carlsbad

City Council members Tuesday night gave residents fighting to preserve a historic eucalyptus grove new hope. The council required a developer planning to build apartments on the site to prepare an environmental impact report.

The action, which followed a public hearing spanning nearly four hours, paves the way for the city to explore the possibility of purchasing Hosp Grove, in the northwest part of Carlsbad near Buena Vista Lagoon. Residents campaigning for preservation of the forest have urged that the city buy the grove and retain it as parkland.

“I’m not convinced that all the questions raised tonight have been answered by the studies we’ve seen,” Councilman Mark Pettine said. “There are a lot of issues here that seem to be crying out for investigation.”

The council’s unanimous vote requires the developer to prepare a detailed environmental study of the project’s impacts if he intends to pursue efforts to build on the site. Such a study had not initially been required because the developer had agreed to conditions designed to mitigate any possible damage to the surrounding area.

But the show of concern about the development--signified by the estimated 250 residents who packed the council chambers and crowded around a television monitor displaying the proceedings outside--appeared to persuade the council that the project deserved closer scrutiny.

The proposal by Odmark Development Co. of San Diego to chop down hundreds of the grove’s historic eucalyptus trees to make way for the 216-unit apartment complex has sparked cries of protest from environmentalists and Carlsbad residents alike.

The Neighborhood Alliance to Save Hosp Grove has attempted to persuade the city to purchase the forest for preservation as parkland or as a historical wilderness area. Members, who turned out in force Tuesday night, have gathered nearly 1,500 signatures on petitions protesting the apartment project, which would be built just south of the Plaza Camino Real shopping mall at the intersection of Marron Road and Monroe Street.

Alliance leaders argue that the development would eradicate habitat for the birds, coyotes, raccoons and other wildlife that frequent the grove, and create runoff that would smother nearby Buena Vista Lagoon under a tide of silt. In addition, it would wipe out an alluring landmark that provides visual relief from the area’s increasingly urban landscape, opponents say.

City planners say the project’s visual effect on the forest will be mitigated by requirements that the developer replant the 470 trees due to get the ax and leave standing a ring of trees around the perimeter of the 25-acre property. Still, even the planners concede the grove won’t look the same.

Project opponents say the impact of traffic generated by the development is also a concern, given its proximity to El Camino Real and California 78, two of the busiest roadways in Carlsbad. And some of the campaign’s more sentimental leaders--including Kay Christiansen, 77, a lifelong Carlsbad resident whose family once owned the property--cite the grove’s unusual history as reason enough to protect it.

In 1907, an Oceanside nursery owner named F.P. Hosp planted the Australian trees as an investment scheme designed to make him and two Los Angeles partners millionaires. The enterprising group had planned to use the eucalyptus for railroad ties, but their research was shabby; when dried, the wood is as hard as flint and unsuitable for railroad construction.

The group’s proposal that the city consider purchasing the land is not without precedent. About 20 years ago, citizens lobbied for public purchase of the grove, which then covered more than 200 acres. But the council declined. Today, it is said to be worth more than $2 million.

If the city chooses to go forward with efforts to purchase Hosp Grove, it could require a vote of the people. Under Proposition H, a measure overwhelmingly approved by Carlsbad voters in 1982, any city project costing more than $2 million requires voter endorsement.