SANTA ANA : Residents Get More Time to Save Trees

A group of tree-loving residents breathed a collective sigh of relief this week when they were given more time by the city to find a way to save most of the 60 Indian laurel fig trees that form a shady canopy along Forest Avenue.

The city has been planning to remove the towering trees that line the street between Riviera Drive and 21st Street because their roots are causing damage to sidewalks and sewer lines.

Removal of the trees was to begin next month, but the City Council has agreed to give the residents five more weeks to come up with alternative recommendations for each tree.

“Those trees are worth at least $30,000 each,” said Berniece Pohlmann, a resident who has organized her neighbors in a spirited campaign to save the trees.

“The trees are really very important and the neighborhood has been going full-tilt to save them. People come from the Civic Center to eat lunch on our street. It’s like being in Sherwood Forest,” Pohlmann said.

The residents have enlisted the help of Fullerton arborist Alden Kelley, who has volunteered his time to their cause. Kelley also came to the aid of a group of residents on Cabrillo Park Drive last year when the city tried to remove 132 liquidambar trees from that street because of sidewalk damage.

As a result of the Cabrillo Park incident, the city decided to conduct a survey of residents before deciding to remove the fig trees and vowed to remove trees only where residents had given approval. City officials said two-thirds of the residents were in favor of having the trees removed.

But Pohlmann challenged the validity of the survey and said residents weren’t given enough information. She has organized neighborhood meetings, conducted her own survey and found the results quite different.

“A lot of people weren’t aware that there are options,” Pohlmann said. “Education is what’s most important. We feel we’re moving in the right direction now.”

The residents met with Councilmen Miguel Pulido and John Acosta this week and the two are now acting as negotiators between the residents and the city.

“We’ve got to think of something better than just tearing the trees down,” Pulido said.