COSTA MESA : Sidewalks to Leave Room for Trees

The sidewalks to be put in on both sides of Tustin Avenue between 19th and 20th streets will meander around the trees on the street, the City Council has decided.

The council decided last month to route the walks around trees to protect the greenery and residents’ privacy by keeping the sidewalks as far as possible from homes.

This was the council’s second major hearing on the project, City Engineer Bob Brock said. The council rejected the entire sidewalk proposal Aug. 7 after residents protested, saying they feared that trees would sacrificed to the sidewalks.

The council was prompted to reconsider the issue, however, after residents who had not attended the Aug. 7 meeting complained that they had thought that the council would only be deciding at that meeting whether to remove the trees, not about whether to approve the sidewalk proposal itself. The council then directed the city staff to conduct a survey of property owners who would be affected by the project. The staff presented the results of the survey, which had the opinions of nearly all affected property owners, at the second meeting. The survey concludes that a large majority would support the walkways if they went around the trees and were laid as far as possible from homes.

About 14 residents spoke on the matter at the September meeting. Some expressed concern that the sidewalks would run too close to their homes and destroy their privacy. Some who spoke in favor, however, said that they liked the safety the sidewalks would offer neighborhood children.