BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Some iconic trees in Beverly Hills are coming down.
Earlier this year, the City of Beverly Hills began a sidewalk renovation project that included the removal of 87 mature ficus trees along Robertson Boulevard, to be replaced by Mexican fan palms and crepe myrtles.
The city says they have already removed 49 out of the 87 total trees included in the project.
Some residents and business owners along Robertson Boulevard have fought back against the project, including Wendy Klenk, who has been fighting in court to pause the removal of any more trees until it can be re-evaluated and include a conversation with the community.
“They cut down the tree in front of my office, so that was upsetting,” Klenk said. “Everyone on the block was coming out going what’s going on? Why are they cutting the trees down?”
Klenk argues that not all 87 trees were causing damage, so not all should be cut down.
Activists, environmentalists and arborists agree the ficus trees provided a crucial amount of shade canopy, which keeps the city cool. Arborists say Mexican fan palms and crepe myrtles don’t provide the same shade that a ficus does, and in an era of global warming, Klenk and others who are opposed to the project said we need more shade from trees, not less.
To prove this point, Klenk walks along Robertson Boulevard with a temperature gun that measures the temperature fluctuations under the trees versus in the open sun.
“So this is a thermometer, and you can point it and it will measure the temperature of the sidewalk. So it’s reading right now 105. We’ve been measuring the temperature under the trees. We’ll put it here and it’s 69.4,” Klenk said.
Owner of art one gallery, Helen Randall, said since the tree outside her store has been removed, the temperature inside has skyrocketed. She’s spending over $4,000 to install UV shades on her windows.
“A major concern is the fading of the artwork. But when the shades are down, we eliminate the visibility of being a store on a busy street. And it makes me think, why be here? We can be on a side street,” she said.
Randall, along with several other business owners on Robertson Boulevard, have joined Klenk in the fight against the city’s plan.
Spectrum News reached out to the City of Beverly Hills, and they responded with this statement:
“The trees were causing extensive damage to the sidewalk, resulting in multiple tripping accidents. Over the years, the city had repaired the sidewalk numerous times to the point where we needed to replace the sidewalk, which resulted in causing damage to the existing ficus tree root structure. To remedy this, the city replaced the ficus trees with a new variety of trees that provide shade.”
The City of Beverly Hills’ own urban forest management plan not only said that palm trees are poor shade trees, but even recommended palm trees that are not historically significant “should be assessed and selected for strategic removal and replacement with a service-providing shade tree.”