ORANGE : City OKs Relocation of Historic Tree

The City Council voted unanimously this week to allow the relocation of a historic ficus tree to make way for a Lucky Food Center expansion, but attached stringent conditions for the tree’s removal.

Council members said Tuesday night that the 80-year-old ficus, which stands in a shopping center parking lot near the intersection of Chapman Avenue and Yorba Street, could not be relocated until all plans for the proposed expansion are approved by the city.

Lucky would have to pay the estimated $100,000 cost of moving the ficus and establish an escrow account to pay for new trees in the shopping center if the historic tree dies as a result of the move. The grocery store could also only relocate the tree on the grounds of the shopping center and must put up a plaque explaining the historic importance of the 60-foot-tall ficus.

“I recognize the importance of the tree to Orange,” Councilman Mark Murphy said. “I want to ensure the tree is not moved if the site is not built.”

Lucky officials say they need to expand the store in order to remain competitive. Store sales have fallen in recent years as other supermarkets with such amenities as delicatessens and bakeries have sprung up around it, said Judie Decker, a spokeswoman for Lucky. However, Lucky officials have yet to present any plans to the city for approval.

A number of residents stated their opposition to the relocation of the tree regardless of the conditions attached to it, saying they feared the tree would not survive the move.

“It’s a cookie-cutter store and we don’t need another one,” resident Bea Herbst said. “If you take the tree out, I’ll never shop at Lucky’s again.”

But Stuart Sperber, president of Valley Crest Tree Service, the firm Lucky has hired to move the tree, said he was sure the ficus could be relocated safely.

“I don’t believe in moving trees just to move them. There has to be a reason,” Sperber said. “The tree is as healthy as you’ll ever find. It’s as pretty and as big a ficus as I’ve ever seen.”

“That tree could be moved anyplace,” he said.