SANTA MONICA—The city of Santa Monica’s Public Landscape Division and Urban Forestry team previously issued a removal notice for a group of historic coral trees on San Vicente Boulevard. The notice prompted a community appeal, which halted removal operations pending review by the Urban Forest Commission. That review was still underway when, on July 4, one of the coral trees collapsed completely.
Following the collapse, an independent arborist’s report found that 12 of the 13 inspected trees were in poor health, driven largely by drought stress. The report raised safety concerns that the trees could fail, posing a risk to the public. The city of Santa Monica now plans to proceed with the removal work, which is expected to take place over the next few weeks.
A community meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 6 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Representatives from the city’s Urban Forestry, Public Landscape, Architecture, and Water Resources teams will discuss the trees’ history, immediate safety needs, and the possibility of replanting in the future.
“The Public Landscape team understands and shares the concerns for the Coral trees lining our iconic San Vicente Blvd. Staff arborists, including our Board-Certified Master Arborist, have been monitoring the tree condition over the years and have taken proactive steps to manage this population of trees. We understand that this is a regional problem, as many of the City of Los Angeles trees are also in poor condition,” the Santa Monica North of Montana Association stated on its website.
Inspections found that this population of Coral trees is threatened by:
Climate change, drought conditions and California state restrictions on watering medians.
Pests of concern include Erythrina Stem Borer (ESB) and Invasive Shothole Borer (ISHB). ESB has been especially devastating on young Coral trees and has hindered efforts to replant new corals. ISHB is very concerning as it can use corals as an amplifier host tree to attack other tree species in the area.
Poor compartmentalization of decay, which is a species trait that predisposes these trees to branch, stem and root emergency failure.
For some trees, this is the end of their natural expected lifecycle as they approach 60+ years old.
Current work in progress:
Park Maintenance staff are performing an irrigation audit to ensure the system on the median is functioning correctly.
An independent tree consultant has been hired by Public Works to assess 13 trees of concern on the median. He will also be working in partnership with the tree consultant commissioned by Brentwood residents to inspect their row of median coral trees that are also showing signs of significant decline.
Weed abatement has been completed recently by staff.
Coral trees on San Vicente Boulevard are more than 75 years old, planted around 1950. In 1966, Mayor Sam Yorty declared the coral tree the official tree of Los Angeles, which is one of the reasons why residents are so invested in keeping them.
Despite the community’s efforts, experts claim most of the trees are beyond recovery and pose legitimate safety concerns, forcing the city of Santa Monica into the difficult position of removing a beloved piece of local history.
By Milan Manesh