SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : City Won’t Let Bank Remove Leaning Pine

City administrators say that a downtown bank may not chop down a tall pine tree that is leaning steeply over its rooftop.

After reviewing reports from two city-hired tree specialists, officials said they believe the 50-year-old torrey pine does not pose a safety threat.

But the reports suggest that a few branches be trimmed from the tree, which is rooted in a city right-of-way in front of the Great Western Bank at Del Obispo Street and Camino Capistrano, said William Huber, the city’s director of building and planning.

The city sought expert advice after an arborist hired by the bank concluded that the tree should be removed because it could topple if hit by high winds.

Huber said the bank has the option of filing an appeal to the City Council. A letter outlining the city’s decision was mailed Friday to the bank.

Bank spokesman Tim McGarry said the bank “will definitely reserve the right” to appeal. He said safety “will be the determining factor in how we proceed in this matter.”

Last month, the bank’s arborist said that the tree was leaning at a 21-degree angle. The expert said he didn’t know if any of the tree’s roots were damaged during road-widening work more than a decade ago on Del Obispo Street.

Fourteen years ago, the same debate made its way to the City Council, with a different bank asking unsuccessfully for permission to remove the tree.

The city’s tree ordinance requires a permit to remove any tree with a trunk more than three inches in diameter at a point six inches above the ground.