The City of Santa Barbara will cut down 13 trees along Milpas Street to help make the street safer.

The trees are located between Canon Perdido and Quinientos streets.

The city was awarded a State Active Transportation Program Grant for design
and construction in 2022. The area has a history of vehicle vs. pedestrian collisions. Milpas Street has the second-highest number of pedestrian collisions in the city.

The city plans many changes to the street, including additional lighting, high-visibility crosswalks, a new traffic signal at the intersection of Milpas and Yanonali streets, accessibility improvements and many other changes.

The trees, eight of them ficus, not only lift the sidewalk but are so tall that they obstruct views for motorists. The city’s Street Tree Advisory Committee recommended the removal of the trees, but the project was appealed to the City Council by resident Claiborne Shank.

The city will retain 82 trees in the area.

“We will still very much have our urban forest intact, which is a very important and critical goal of the project,” said Jessica Grant, supervising transportation planner.

Shank appealed the decision, suggesting that the city did not do enough public outreach, did not consider widening the sidewalks and that sight-line obstruction should not be a reason for an appeal.

The city intends to plant about three dozen new, young trees, some of them eucalyptus.

“There are over 700 eucalyptus species, and there are a lot of good ones, and only one bad one,” said Nathan Slack, the city’s urban forest superintendent.

Shank said he was just a pedestrian who loved trees and would rather see wider sidewalks and fewer car lanes than seen the trees removed.

“I don’t think anyone here wants to cut down these trees,” he said. “I think we all see the beauty of them, the quality of life that exists because of them.”

He called the trees “irreplaceable.”

Shank said the city will lose something special if the trees are removed.

“Once those are gone, it doesn’t matter what species you plant, we’re not going to be seeing anything nearly as significant in our lifetime,” he said.

Another Milpas Street resident agreed.

“These trees are habitat,” resident Kate Clark said. “One of the joys that I have in my home is that every morning a whole huge flock of crows come flying by my house. I don’t know where they go, but they disappear every morning flying east toward Montecito, and every morning they come back and roost in the trees.”

Five existing ficus trees were identified for removal because of accessibility issues. Three others are set to be removed because they block sight lines for motorists at intersections. Five others are near intersections where the city plans to create wider sidewalks and designated bike lanes.

Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse said some trees will need to be replaced over time to make areas safer.

“Milpas is one of the most dynamic areas in our entire city,” Rowse said. “A lot of people who live there also work and use their vehicles, so the idea of reducing capacity is probably not going to work out too well.”

Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon said she was conflicted about the decision and wondered if the city staff did enough to research other options.

The vote was 5-1-1. Councilman Oscar Gutierrez was forced to abstain because he temporarily left the room for a private matter during the appeal hearing. Since he missed part of the discussion, he was not allowed to vote.