Local activists, arborists, artists, and residents are ringing alarm bells at Santa Ana City Hall, hoping to save a Santa Ana Main Public Library ficus tree that is set to be removed.
The group of concerned residents are worried the tree could be removed as early as Wednesday morning.
“This is a public asset,” said Jenson Hallstrom, 27, an urban forest activist who has advocated for OC trees for the past seven years.
“There is a cultural and social importance to such trees,” Hallstrom said in a Tuesday interview, “that it warrants thorough and comprehensive evaluation while exploring all possibilities for preservation.”
Yet city officials say the tree poses a danger to residents and city staff and it needs to be removed as part of the planned library overhaul.
“Accessibility to the existing patio has been limited for years and the space has not been available to serve a community in need of safe and accessible public spaces. This is due to safety hazards caused by a large Ficus Drupacea Tree (“Ficus Tree”) that is planted adjacent to the building,” reads the city’s website about the library overhaul.
Santa Ana city officials – including city council members – didn’t return repeated calls seeking comment on Tuesday.
Late Tuesday afternoon, three council members – Mayor Valerie Amezcua and Councilmembers Jonathan Hernandez, Thai Viet Pham and Jessie Lopez – were being sworn in after their election was certified.
Santa Ana City Councilman Benjamin Vazquez did confirm for reporters via an afternoon text that city officials confirmed to him on Tuesday their intent to remove the iconic tree, telling him that it’s creating problems for the library’s structure.
Vazquez added that city officials told him the tree removal is part of the city library renovation plan.
The city’s main library is currently closed.
Santa Ana is home to 60,000 trees, and it has been named “Tree City” by the Arbor Day Foundation for many years.
Santa Ana also spends over $4 million a year on tree programs.
Planted in 1970, the Ficus Drupacea (Mysore Fig) is considered subtropical and not native to the area.
City officials list problem issues ranging from excessive fruit droppings and debris from the tree onto the floor and potentially damaging the Italian marble and foundation of the general area from the extending roots.
They also state that “multiple” employees had been injured.
But there’s a way to work around it, according to one Santa Ana arborist, Rhonda Wood, 48, president of Woodworks Tree Preservation.
Wood, a Santa Ana resident, faced the same issues at Disneyland as the Urban Forester at Disneyland Park in Anaheim.
“We manage by, in some cases, installing a minimal effort, not a lot of money, but like a canopy cover,” said Wood, who managed 16,000 Disney Trees for over 25 years and oversaw many of the trees during construction phases of the park.
Wood also explains that the Santa Ana Public Library tree, which is over 50 years old and 75 feet high, is very healthy despite being surrounded by concrete.
“Ficus are very resilient.”
Activists are planning a 7 a.m.. protest on Wednesday in front of the tree.
The Santa Ana Library ficus tree is also on the academic self-registry of the “California Big Trees,” where teams of arborists recognize its unique nature.
Trees have been an issue for many Orange County cities, often leaving municipalities facing liabilities for falling branches, tripping hazards and roots growing onto streets, as highlighted by an OC Grand Jury Report in 2019.
[Read: Santa Ana Officials Rethink Use of Non-Shade Trees As They Reimagine City’s Urban Forest]
The report focused on eight cities – including Santa Ana – highlighting how Orange County cities do a poor job of creating awareness among residents about the economic benefits trees have for a city, despite concerns over safety and liability.
After the release of the OC Grand Jury report, Santa Ana officials created the Urban Forest Management Plan, which details criteria for the removal of trees within the city.
The criteria for removing trees is mainly determined by whether there is structural damage due to age, if branches and roots are a threat for liabilities like tripping hazards or fallen branches.
The tree removal also has local activists asking why iconic trees aren’t protected under Urban Forest Management.
Many generations of Santa Ana residents have sat under the shade, explains Jenson, and removing the ficus tree, especially at a library where some locals seek refuge in 100-degree summers, would be a loss.
Wildlife has found its way to the tree as well.
“It provides a highway in the sky to our bird population, including the parrots that are beloved by many residents for their cultural significance,” said Wood.
In some Santa Ana neighborhoods, the lack of tree canopies hurts residents’ quality of life.
“With urban heat island effects, losing mature tree canopy cover is already such an issue,” says Hallstrom.
Woods hopes that Santa Ana City Council members will understand their concerns surrounding the planned removal of the ficus tree.
“Consider the history of this tree and the great loss that it would be if it were gone, for young kids visiting the library to experience a canopy like that,” said Wood.
“Yeah, they could go to Disneyland and experience pretty big canopies of those trees. But how many? How many kids get to go to Disneyland? In Santa Ana?”
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