Some Peninsula residents were outraged that several tall palm trees on Newport Avenue were abruptly removed recently by the City on the claim that their height impeded incoming aircraft.

The trees were removed recently on a Monday morning following brief notification to nearby homeowners the night before on Sunday.

“They (City) came out with the cops to cut down the trees at 7:15 a.m. when you couldn’t even call the City or County or anyone,” said Tracy Van De Walker who, along with her husband John, has spearheaded opposition to the City’s plans to remove the Newport palms. “Who decided this was going to happen, without people even being allowed to speak about it?”

Another resident, Barb Franklin, concurred with Van De Walker’s view.

“Elected officials making decisions in a secret way is not representing their constituents,” said Franklin. “They lied. They snuck in when government offices were closed and ordered San Diego Police Department to keep constituents away from the City workers cutting down 100-plus-year-old palms. How do we have civic pride, or care about our communities, if the government isn’t open and honest about their closed-door plans for our communities?”

“A tree that took 110 years to grow was gone in seconds,” said Point Loma resident Don Sevrens noting, “This was the stretch of historic palm trees planted by D.C. Collier 110 years ago.”

Characterizing the City’s early-morning tree chopping as a “dead-of-night maneuver,” Sevrens added: “Previously, Rep. Scott Peters had established that neither the Federal Aviation Administration nor the San Diego Airport Authority had requested the trees’ removal. Residents who filed a court suit (to save the palms) have a July 15 court date. Why is the City in such a rush?”

Reacting to Franklin’s complaint about the tree-cutting, Linus C. Smith of District 2 Councilmember Dr. Jennifer Campbell’s office sent an email stating: “The removal of the trees was a direct result of an order given to the City by the FAA and the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. The FAA and SDCRAA told the City the trees must be removed because they would ‘constitute an obstruction and have an adverse effect upon the navigable airspace at the airport.’ The City must comply with the order as is required by state and federal regulations.”

In a March 25 letter to residents in the vicinity of Newport’s palms, the City of San Diego Transportation Department said: “The SDCRAA directed the City to remove five palm trees for public safety. These trees currently intrude into protected airspace for the San Diego International Airport, and to avoid impacts to the airport operations, these palm trees must be removed.”

The letter identified the palms to be cut as those on Newport Avenue with the numbered addresses of 4404, 4411, (two trees) at 4386 and one at 4369.

“Additional street trees were previously scheduled for trimming or removal due to the airspace conflict,” continued the transportation department’s letter. “Those trees will continue to be monitored and may also require removal in the future.”

The department’s letter contended that the City was acting within its authority to maintain its trees within the right-of-way for public safety and that all standard operating procedures were followed, including posting no parking signage, keeping vehicles away from tree removal debris, and allowing a safe space for crews to work in.

“The City prohibits interference with any employee performing tree work, including tree removals,” said the City’s Transportation Department. “This requirement is for your safety and for the safety of our City employees who work tirelessly to maintain our citywide street trees.”

In a letter of support for the Newport palms, Peninsula Community Planning Board recently stated: “The community is overwhelming against the removal of these historic palm trees planted over 100 years ago in the early 1900s by Col. David Charles Collier, who is considered by many as the true founder of Ocean Beach. The palm trees are of historical and cultural significance to the local community.”

Last year, City crews went out to the intersection of Newport Avenue and Santa Barbara Street intending to remove more than a dozen palm trees as requested by the Airport Authority, which claimed the palms threatened to impair the visibility of airplanes.

But a host of protesting OB neighbors successfully blocked the immediate removal of all but one tree at that time. Neighbors then retained attorney Marc Applbaum to sue the City for attempting to block the emergency removal of the trees. They argued the trees are healthy and historic and not a threat to incoming aircraft while insisting that cutting palms down in the right-of-way on Newport Avenue violates their property rights and depresses their property values.

The Van De Walkers continue to dispute the City’s claim that the FAA ordered the City to chop down the trees, or that they were tall enough to truly pose a threat to incoming aircraft.

“They’re (City’s) trying to put the FAA as a scapegoat,” Tracy Van De Walker said, adding she was told by the FAA that the federal agency “only does obstruction evaluations and puts down guidelines” for how trees, like those on Newport, are to be handled.

“The FAA didn’t tell them to cut down the trees,” she added.

“They (City) have tunnel vision,” said John Van De Walker.

“Now we’re on their radar,” concluded Tracy Van De Walker.