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By Jorge Casuso

October 5 -- The Planning Commission Thursday sent an urgent letter asking the City Council to engage in more discussion before killing 23 mature ficus trees and relocating another 21 from the heart of Downtown.

But Mayor Richard Bloom said it was unlikely the council would change its plan to begin the $8.2 million screetscape project along 2nd and 4th streets Monday morning as scheduled.

The letter asks the council to proceed slowly, “removing only those trees known to be diseased,” and explore alternatives such as installing rubber sidewalks or permeable concrete and adjusting location of lighting, before uprooting the trees that are tearing up the sidewalks.

“With the contract in place we suggest that rather than doing all of the removal right away, the City delay, to the greatest extent possible under the contract, by proceeding slowly,” Julie Lopez Dad wrote on behalf of her fellow commissioners. “The City should be able to meet contract requirements while re-considering what needs to be done.”

“We do not make this request lightly,” Dad wrote. “Not only is there widespread public concern, but valid questions have been raised from various quarters, possible alternatives presented for handling the situations where trees conflict with re-design, and ways suggested to preserve these living organisms where they now live.”

But Mayor Bloom said it is unlikely the council will revisit a plan that was approved three years ago, especially with crews set to begin work.

“I don’t see the council changing its position,” Bloom said. “I don’t think the council should reconsider its decision.

“We’ve heard these concerns when the issue came before the council, and a decision was reached,” the mayor said. “At some point, we must consider an issue settled… When decisions are made, we should respect them.”

The commission’s last-minute plea comes one day after some three dozen opponents flocked City Hall to urge the powerful board to recommend that the to council delay the plan to remove 54 ficus trees and 21 palms, and install 139 new Ginkgo trees along the streets flanking the popular Third Street Promenade.

The commission unanimously voted to draft the letter, bolstering the efforts of Treesavers, a fledgling grassroots group that has held meetings, staged protests and questioned the decision to kill 23 of the Ficus trees they contend are likely healthy and should be saved.

In the letter, the commission echoes many of the concerns voiced by Treesavers, which argues that the shady canopy provided by the ficus will be replaced by the much thinner ginko trees, which are less environmentally friendly.

The commission also questioned the streetscape plan, which, among other hings, adds decorative up-lighting to the remaining ficus trees, repairs sidewalks or curbs damaged by the trees, enlarges tree wells and installs new pedestrian lighting.

“The Commission is concerned about the urban design itself (how it actually works, how it "feels", what it does . . .), the paramount question and importance of sustainability,” the letter states.

“Many useful suggestions are being promoted which we would like to discuss with the Council, as would the public,” Dad wrote. “There surely are useful alternatives which can be implemented either within the existing contract or by using our City's negotiating skills to modify that contract slightly.”

Bloom questioned the need to reopen the discussion, saying that the City’s well-respected community forester, Walt Warriner, had made the recommendations and that the council already had scaled down the scope of the project, which originally called for removing all the trees.

“This costs everybody in he city money,” Bloom said. “It’s not like it’s a simple thing. We’ve waited three years. We’ve changed the program.

“Another plan, which was really a substantial compromise, was reached, and that plan was reduced even further,” Bloom said.

The mayor called the information and assumptions being made by opponents of the plan “fallacious,” especially their questioning of the City arborist’s findings that two dozen of the trees should be composted.

“Our detractors are simply ignoring this information and doing everything but accusing the City of lying with not a shred of proof to the contrary, Bloom said.

“I think it’s unfortunate when the dialogue in the community reaches that level,” the mayor said. “We work hard to keep the dialogue honest.”

“Not only is there widespread public concern, but valid questions have been raised from various quarters." Planning Commision

“At some point, we must consider an issue settled… When decisions are made, we should respect them.” Richard Bloom