Crews Remove Trees Despite Neighbors’ Protest
Construction crews began uprooting a stand of stately old trees Wednesday on land once owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs after Los Angeles city officials determined there was nothing they could do to stop them.
But in response to complaints from neighbors, Manhattan Holding Co. of Long Beach agreed to preserve about 40 trees out of the stand of about 290. The company plans to build a 30-home subdivision on the 18-acre site on Tarzana Drive.
Residents who live near the property expressed dismay.
“We’re devastated, but unfortunately there’s so few of us on Tarzana Drive that we couldn’t really do anything to stop it,” said Susanne Belcher, a 15-year resident of the street and member of the Tarzana Property Owners Assn. “Emotionally, when I heard about it, I just sat down and cried. Cutting those trees down is like taking away Tarzana’s history.”
The company agreed two weeks ago to delay clearance of the property pending a review of the project by the city. But City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski and representatives from the city Street Tree Division met with the developer last week and determined the company has a legal right to cut down the trees.
The developer will preserve about 30 trees along the southern edge of the property bordering El Caballero Country Club and about a dozen trees along the north end bordering Tarzana Drive.
In 1919, the land was purchased by Burroughs, creator of the Tarzan stories and founder of Tarzana, and comprised part of his sprawling Tarzana Ranch.
Most of the trees were planted between 1910 and 1912. The stand includes coast redwoods, coast live oaks, beef wood and sequoia sempervivum.
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