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By Jorge Casuso

May 15 -- An Appeals Court on Wednesday rejected a case filed by Treesavers in March and lifted a temporary stay order, paving the way for the City to begin removing ficus trees Downtown.

City officials hailed the decision and said they will contact work crews to begin an $8.2 million streetscape project that calls for removing or relocating 31 of the 157 ficus trees along 2nd and 4th streets.

“I am pleased that the courts have upheld the City’s position and that we may now move forward to enhance these streets and protect public safety,” said City Manager Lamont Ewell.

“The City intends to proceed with the removal of 23 trees that are structurally unstable, and implement the other improvements,” Ewell said.

In a statement released Wednesday, Treesavers said "environmental and community activists" are "pledging to increase their political and diplomatic efforts to save the threatened Ficus trees."

The group also is "insisting that the Santa Monica City Council and City Manager join with Treesavers and the community in seeking a business and environmentally-friendly
win-win solution," Treesavers said.

"Santa Monica has an obligation to respect the will of the community, which has been shown through over 8,000 petition signatures," the group wrote.

Attorneys for Treesavers said they were disappointed with the decision.

“We are disappointed, but we have in one way or another saved many trees,” said Tom Nitti, the group’s attorney.

When the group filed its lawsuit last October, the City had planned to remove or chop down 54 trees. The number was winnowed down to 31 last month.

The Second Appellate District Court’s decision caps a headline-grabbing battle between the City and Treesavers, a grassroots group that has staged public demonstrations, packed the City Council chambers and taken the case to court.

The decision came one day after Treesavers presented the City with a settlement offer that called for saving 14 of the trees the group says do not pose an imminent danger to public safety and leaving in place the seven trees slated for relocation to other parts of the project area.

“It allowed them to remove only the worst trees that the City considered unsafe and are most likely failing and remove branches that are considered dangerous,” Nitti said.

“The offer was made in good faith, and I believe the City will be acting in good faith as well,” Nitti said.

City officials rejected the settlement offer, saying it differed dramatically from a version presented by Treesavers last week.

“Last week’s proposal had considerable promise for a settlement. It moved the ball a long way,” said Assistant City Attorney Joe Lawrence. “The proposal they sent (Tuesday) was an enormous step back.

“Now we have a completely different situation with the court decision,” Lawrence said.

It was the second attempt to settle the case in one month. On April 21, Treesavers asked the City to bring in one or two independent arborists before removing the trees. The two parties would then abide by the findings.

But the City’s representatives turned down the proposal, noting that the City’s urban forester and an independent consultant had deemed the trees slated for removal “structurally unstable.”

Wednesday's decision will likely end a court battle that began when Treesavers filed a lawsuit in Superior Court last year.

The group argued that it filed its case within 180 days of the City Council’s decision to exempt the ficus trees from environmental review. The court granted the group an injunction barring the City from removing the trees, but ultimately ruled against he group and lifted the injunction.

Treesavers appealed the Superior Court decision and the injunction was reinstated by the Appeals Court until it was lifted Wednesday.

In addition to removing and relocating the ficus trees, the streetscape project will add 120 new ginko trees, as well as decorative up-lighting to the remaining ficus trees. The project also calls for repairing sidewalks or curbs damaged by their roots.

In addition, the project calls for enlarging tree wells, installing new pedestrian lighting to illuminate sidewalk areas, enhancing six mid-block crosswalks and adding accessibility improvements for the handicapped.

Treesavers, which has threatened to engage in acts of civil disobedience, says the group does not oppose the overall project, only the removal of the trees.