Santa Barbara wants to remove 49 trees in De la Guerra Plaza as part of its plan to transform the downtown open space in front of City Hall, to the right, and the historic Casa De la Guerra in the background.
Santa Barbara wants to remove 49 trees in De la Guerra Plaza as part of its plan to transform the downtown open space in front of City Hall, to the right, and the historic Casa De la Guerra in the background. Credit: Joshua Molina / Noozhawk photo

Say goodbye.

The City of Santa Barbara wants to cut down 49 trees in De la Guerra Plaza.

Although the fate of the overall plaza remains uncertain, the Parks & Recreation Commission has recommended taking down 49 trees as an early step toward a plaza renovation.

Brad Hess, the principal project manager, and Nathan Slack, the urban forest superintendent, presented the plan at last week’s Parks & Recreation Commission meeting.

The commission voted unanimously to support the tree removal during a 37-minute discussion Wednesday.

“This is a really large, city-initiated project of great size and scale,” Slack said.

Hess gave the bulk of the presentation and delivered a background on the overall De la Guerra Plaza project.

He said the vision is to “celebrate the center of town, highlight the historic buildings, create a space that is incredibly flexible and beautiful again.”

“We want to activate this space again,” Hess said. “We want to honor everything that has happened in this space and create a true civic plaza for our community.”

The proposed trees to be removed are mostly palm trees in the green part of the plaza, Storke Placita, in the southwest corner, connecting the site to the 700 block of State Street.

Currently, De la Guerra Plaza has 91 trees. The city plans to save 38, relocate three and plant 45 smaller trees. About 26 of those will be canopy/shade trees.

The pepper tree in front of City Hall will remain, Slack said.

Most of the trees approved for removal from De la Guerra Plaza are palm trees located in Storke Placita, the area to the right that connects the plaza with State Street. Many of the palms would be replaced with smaller trees that provide more shade.
Most of the trees approved for removal from De la Guerra Plaza are palm trees located in Storke Placita, the area to the right that connects the plaza with State Street. Many of the palms would be replaced with smaller trees that provide more shade. Credit: Joshua Molina / Noozhawk photo

Santa Barbara is currently in the process of re-envisioning De la Guerra Plaza.

As it stands now, the plaza is mostly vacant much of the year. It becomes a marquee destination for the five-day Old Spanish Days Fiesta celebration in the summer, and is a popular gathering spot for local demonstrations, rallies and community activities.

But it is hardly a place with regular events and programming.

The city wants to remove the grass, eliminate all the parking, and flatten the area by removing the curbs.

A bubbler water feature has been proposed. A pavilion with a stage, along with public restrooms in Storke Placita also are being discussed.

The city has plans to sprinkle art throughout the plaza, as well.

The project also includes a dramatic effort to make Anacapa Street the primary entrance to City Hall.

The city’s project must still undergo various stages of approval. The project needs environmental review, approval from the Historic Landmarks Commission and approval by the City Council.

If all goes as planned, Hess said, construction could begin after Fiesta in 2025.

The commissioners at the meeting did not dive into an analysis of the tree removal.

Commissioner Jeffrey Chang asked who was paying for the project.

Hess said all of the planning costs so far have been paid through Measure C sales tax funds while the rest of the project will be paid from a combination of funds from Measure C and the bond measure for the Santa Barbara police station project.

The new police headquarters is to be built on the site of the commuter parking lot on the corner of East Cota and Santa Barbara streets, currently the home of the Saturday farmers market.

The city has tied the project together with the new police station because it began studying De la Guerra Plaza when it was considering moving the farmers market there.

Hess said the city also wants to pursue grants to help fund the De la Guerra Plaza project.

“This is exciting,” commission chairwoman Deanna Feck exclaimed. “It looks really pretty. We’re excited to see this come to reality.”

— Noozhawk South County editor Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.