Save the Trees Before Repeating Pico Mistake

October 1, 2007

Dear Editor,

Re: Demonstrators Rally to Save Downtown Trees

I've lived on Pico Blvd for over 20 years, so I've already lived once through this nightmare of the City Council and it's thirst to destroy trees. Over ten years ago, they started with pretty lies about the so-called "improvement," too. Then, that Pico would rival Vermont's fall foliage when they were done chopping down our trees: "The new trees will change colors with the seasons!"

Only half-a-lie I suppose, because trees the City Council had planted (possibly London Plane Trees) remain so stunted and starved for moisture year round (or unsuited to our climate) that the leaves never get completely green, but the crumpled brownish leaves do finally go completely dung-brown before falling off.

They destroyed block after block of healthy trees which provided a varied canopy (including putting through a woodchipper the four-story tree that shaded my apartment, filtered the grit and noise from passing cars, and attracted humming birds and butterflies).

Over decade later, for instance, I'm left with an ugly, stunted stick tree which has barely made it to 12 feet tall, which still doesn't reach my third story window, and its current three crumpled brown leaves don't make much shade, and attract no birds, no butterflies, but allow twice as much grit from traffic into my apartment.

Look down any block on lower Pico and you'll see the few healthy green old-growth trees 10 or 15 feet in from the street that the City Council couldn't get it's paws on: compare them to the ugly, stunted replacements the city council forced on Pico Boulevard and its residents.

(The same goes for the trees replaced in the medians on lower Pico: check out the City Council's stunted and forever dying replacements, compare them to the old-growth trees on private property that still thrive.)

If the City Council's hand-picked arborist led to such an environmental disaster on Pico, why should we trust the chosen arborist for their new lumberjack experiment? (It's telling that an environmental impact study was never made, or filed, for this new tree travesty.)

A visiting friend with a horticulture degree was horrified when she saw the trees on Pico forced on us by the City Council, and said they were never meant for Santa Monica's climate. (She also didn't think much of the council's new plan to move the trees on Second and Fourth street, saying that experience has shown few old-growth trees survive such a move.)

I can only urge the city council not to make another such obvious mistake in denuding Santa Monica's foliage.

Judith Brown
Santa Monica