Residents urge community to speak up as city hearing approaches
After months of community organizing, back-channel correspondence, and a contentious September meeting, the future of three Italian Stone Pines on Warren Avenue in Mar Vista is now in the hands of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 15 at 10 a.m. inside the Board of Public Works room at City Hall.
The hearing was confirmed by a field deputy from Councilwoman Traci Park’s 11th District office, who notified Warren Avenue neighbors by email on April 7. Street Services will present its case for removing the three trees at that session.
The path to April 15 has been slow. As recently as mid-March, the Urban Forestry Division was still awaiting a City Attorney review of a CEQA Notice of Exemption before a hearing date could be set. The council office had promised at least one week’s notice once the date was confirmed, which they honored.
At the heart of the dispute is whether the city must choose between repairing the road and preserving the trees. Councilwoman Park’s position, according to neighbors and correspondence, is that the three stone pines must come down before road and sidewalk repairs on Warren will move forward. Residents warn that this approach could set a troubling precedent. If the removal of trees becomes a precondition for road repair on Warren, the same logic could be applied to other corridors throughout the district, putting the entire mature tree canopy at risk one street at a time.
That concern is sharpened by what happened on nearby Moore Street. City crews recently repaired roughly ten homes’ worth of sidewalks and driveway aprons there without removing any trees, redesigning the concrete to jog around existing root systems rather than eliminate them. The work, believed to have been funded through a state SB 1 infrastructure program, drew little fanfare. No community meetings were held and there was no public debate.
If the Board sides with Street Services, Urban Forestry would remove the three trees in mid-April, followed by localized concrete repairs and then larger asphalt work in late April or early May. The full project would take approximately two months from the date of the hearing. If the Board does not approve removal, Street Services would need to reassess its options.
The agenda for the April 15 meeting is expected to be published on Friday, April 10 and will include instructions for submitting virtual public comment for those who cannot attend in person. Residents can subscribe to receive agenda notifications here. Community members who want to attend in person should plan to arrive at City Hall by 10 a.m. on April 15.
Neighbors are urging broad participation, framing the April 15 hearing as far more than a local street matter. “We cannot sacrifice our tree canopy just because one politician has a desire for a ‘one and done’ solution,” one resident wrote. The Board of Public Works hearing is the community’s formal opportunity to make that case on the record.