OJAI : Trees May Be Pulled to Repair Sidewalk

Ojai, a city known for preserving its sycamore and oak trees, will decide tonight whether to remove at least eight fruitless mulberry trees along Oak Creek Lane to keep the trees’ roots from buckling the sidewalk.

The 20-year-old shade trees, some of which are full grown and tower above the homes in the cul-de-sac, will be replaced with new trees planted on the property side of the sidewalk, said Stan Moore, director of public works. The existing trees now sit on a narrow strip of land between the sidewalk and the street.

In addition to pulling out the trees, the city’s street improvement plan calls for widening the narrow sidewalk to 3 1/2 feet.

The neighborhood changes have been in the planning stages for more than two years, as the city worked to get Oak Creek Lane neighbors to agree on the project.

“We had gone through different alternatives, including narrowing the street to save the trees,” said City Manager Andrew Belknap. “There was nothing else we could feasibly do.”

Area residents opposed the original plan to narrow the street, and chose instead to have the trees removed and replaced with less troublesome trees.

Removing the trees will cost from $12,000 and $15,000, less than half the $30,000 tab to narrow the street, Moore said.