Brentwood: Removal of Curbside Ficus Trees

The Westside Section story on the San Vicente corridor (“Getting Hip to the Strip,” Aug. 14) contained omissions and errors regarding the environmental and visual character of the Brentwood portion of the boulevard.

The San Vicente strip’s commercial portion is being degraded due to the flawed decisions of Councilman Braude’s handpicked design review board. The board has aggressively pushed removal of the large, curbside ficus trees, with replacement by scrawny London plane trees.

The London plane tree, unlike the existing ficus trees, aren’t smog resistant. Consequently, they are doing poorly because of the heavy, traffic-related particulate air pollution on San Vicente Boulevard. Traffic volume on San Vicente has increased sharply in the past 20 years, bringing with it a substantial increase in West Los Angeles air pollution.

The existing ficus trees--with their large, dense, leafy heads--retain their leaves throughout the year. The London plane trees are without leaves much of the year. Scientific studies show that significant amounts of cancer-causing, traffic-generated particulates are filtered out of street corridors by the presence of large street trees.

Broken sidewalks are one of the justifications given for cutting down the San Vicente ficus trees. However, Louise’s Trattoloria Restaurant at Darlington and San Vicente preserved their five magnificent ficus trees, despite strong pressure from the city and the plan review board to remove them. The sidewalk was repaired, roots were pruned and Louise’s patrons benefit from the preservation efforts.

ALEXANDER M. MAN Santa Monica