Rita O’Neil has lived in Bird Rock for 38 years, and she strongly believes that it’s the responsibility of her generation to preserve the community for generations to come.
That’s why the 84-year-old became concerned when she saw a neighbor digging a large hole near the base of an expansive eucalyptus tree on his Waverly Avenue property. She felt compelled to save it.
“I’m not a nut about trees,” O’Neil said. “If the tree is dangerous, then it’s important for the city to know about it. But to just dig around and uproot a tree without a permit “” well, I think that’s sad.”
After serving on the La Jolla Parks and Recreation Committee for 18 years, O’Neil is no stranger to city rules and ordinances. She knew that since the eucalyptus was less than 12 feet from the road’s curb, it was owned by the city. And that meant her neighbor was required to obtain a permit before doing any gardening or maintenance work.
O’Neil spoke with Drew Potocki, the city’s urban forester, about four weeks ago and he sent the city’s street division to the residence to examine the tree and discuss maintenance with the neighbor.
The neighbor had allegedly hired a landscaper to put in a cement wall, which required him to dig near the tree, according to Potocki.
“There is a 60-foot-wide public right-of-way from the center of the street each way for 30 feet,” Potocki said. “The tree fell under our jurisdiction, which is the street right of way.
“We saw work had been done without a permit, which put the city at a liability issue.”
Potocki explained that if a street does not have a curb, the general guideline used to measure the public right of way is the edge of the street to the private property line.
He admitted the issue can be confusing, especially with streets that haven’t been fully developed. Streets that are extremely wide and those in newer communities often have only five to ten feet of public right of way, including sidewalks and trees, he said.
Tampering with a city tree without a permit is a misdemeanor citation under municipal code 620601-620614, according to Potocki. Fines can vary depending on whether the tree is protected and if the offender intentionally meant to damage it, he said. He was unsure whether police had pursued any legal action against O’Neil’s neighbor.
The tree was officially placed in the neighbor’s name, which means he must provide its maintenance because the extent and cost of the care now needed is beyond what the city can provide, Potocki said.
“Our role here is more education, training and trying to help people understand why we have street trees, and what should be done to them and what should not be done to them,” the forester said. “It wasn’t anything intentionally done to harm the tree. Whenever we look at these cases, our standpoint is the ultimate safety of the street and whoever walks and drives by it.”
San Diego has about 200,000 street trees, although based on the size of the city it should have about 500,000, according to Potocki. As a landowner, it’s important to understand the value that trees add to property, he said.
For the last year, his staff has been cataloguing trees as protected due to their age, size, location and historical significance, which makes the city aware that they should not be tampered with.
O’Neil couldn’t agree more with Potocki’s philosophy. She was relieved that the city had responded in such an effective manner, but said she still felt disheartened when Potocki informed her that the tree’s roots had been disturbed significantly and that a large 30-foot branch would have to be removed from the tree so that it wouldn’t become completely uprooted.
“People take the rules into their own hands, and they don’t get permits from the city,” she said. “I’m going to talk to the La Jolla Town Council about getting word out that they shouldn’t be doing this.”
The council already knows that O’Neil means business. Last year, its members honored her for her volunteer work. Glen Rasmussen, the La Jolla Town Council president, said he was not aware of the latest tree issue but that he was sure O’Neil would take care of it.
“Rita has done yeoman’s work with saving lots of large trees that were threatened by house remodeling and that sort of thing, and we gave her an award for the work she has done,” Rasmussen said. “She is very aware of the law with respect to what people can do and can’t do on their property, both on residential and city property. We are very glad to have a watchdog like her acting on behalf of our community.”
The award came as a surprise to O’Neil, who has been a part of many efforts in the community, such as saving the seals at the Children’s Pool and protecting the Mount Soledad Cross.
“I was very impressed,” she said.
Other concerned residents have stopped by to inquire about the status of her neighbor’s tree and teachers at the local elementary school said that many of their students walk along Waverly Avenue in the mornings to enjoy the eucalyptus trees, according to O’Neil.
It’s her hope that the entire community will begin to share her goal of safeguarding the environment for the future.
“I kind of have a deep feeling about people and trees and the ocean, and everyone and everything being environmentally happy,” O’Neil said. “I just hope that my generation will leave the world with healthy trees and water.”
“And no wars,” she added as an afterthought.
O’Neil often envisions environmental issues and other challenges that face youth when she visits with her grandson, who is a recent college graduate. She wonders what will be left for him when he is her age.
“I think, ‘Gee, I hope we are leaving you a good world,'” she said.
As for her neighbor’s tree, O’Neil has taken an optimistic stance, saying, “We’ll just have to see” on whether or not it will survive.
With any luck, it will “” along with her unwavering dedication to preserve the planet, one tree at a time.
Permit applications to provide maintenance for city street trees are free and can be found at www.sandiego.gov/street-div/. To report someone tampering with a city tree or any other violation, contact the city’s street division, (619) 527-7500. To nominate a tree for protection status, visit www.sandiego.gov/street-div/pdf/nomform.pd. The Community Forest Advisory Board reviews nominations.