And then there was one.

The city of Santa Barbara’s Parks and Recreation Department toppled four Italian stone pine trees on East Anapamu Street, and only a bird’s nest temporarily spared a fifth tree.

For now.

Santa Barbara’s decision to chop down the trees, which are city landmarks, has sparked a community backlash. The removals went through no formal process, and were only announced through a city press release.

“It’s really sad,” said Cheri Rae, a local preservationist and book author. “You can’t just obliterate them without discussion, and that is what the Parks and Recreation Department is doing.”

The tree canopy creates an iconic view between the 300 and 800 blocks of East Anapamu Street, next to Santa Barbara High School and leading up to the Santa Barbara Bowl.

The city in May removed four trees that its staff determined were not “structurally stable,” and that “no mitigation options existed that would have allowed for tree retention,” said Nathan Slack, urban forest superintendent.

It had intended to remove a fifth, but stopped the process temporarily because crows were nesting in the branches.

The removals followed two trees that fell during the storms in March. At the time, the city removed three stone pines and “initiated a risk assessment of the remaining trees.”

The trees, about 51 total before some were removed, were planted in 1908 and 1929.

Slack told Noozhawk that the trees taken out were unstable and dying.

“The primary driver of the tree removals is the loss of primary or structural roots,” Slack said. “This has been caused over the last several decades due to the need to repair hardscape (sidewalks/road/curb & gutters).”

In a letter to the City Council dated May 20, Parks and Recreation Director Jill Zachary said the trees are unsafe.

“The remaining trees have decay within the visible root zone, indicating that very little, or none, of each tree’s primary structural root zone remains,” Zachary said.

“As a result, staff cannot guarantee that any of these five trees can remain standing and, therefore, cannot be considered safe.”

But community members say the Parks and Recreation Department botched the entire process.

“The tree in front of our home was not dead,” said resident Lisa Ballantine. “An arborist examined the stump and said that the tree had no signs of decay. It was healthy and producing sap.”

Ballantine said the city disregarded its own Urban Forest Management Plan, and failed to allow the Street Tree Advisory Committee, the Historic Landmarks Commission, or the Pearl Chase Society to have any input on any proposals to remove historic trees.

“The manner in which the Parks and Recreation Department has conducted itself was complete disregard of members of the Santa Barbara community who have attempted numerous times to put this item on the city agenda so that there could be public input and transparency,” Ballantine said.

She said the first notice nearby residents received was dated May 21, but not received until after Memorial Day. The letter said the trees would be cut on June 5.

The decision to remove the trees, she said, “was not justified nor has the impact of the removal of these trees been adequately addressed at this time, at the beginning of the summer, when we expect that the next 4 to 5 months will be very warm, and we will now no longer enjoy the benefit of the shade that they provide to the neighborhood.”

Cass Ensberg, a member of the city’s Historic Landmarks Commission, said the removal of the trees by the Parks and Recreation Department “puts our values and priorities into question.”

“Traveling under and next to these magnificent trees never fails to be a reminder of Santa Barbara’s connection to and reverence for the natural environment,” Ensberg said.

She said members of the Historic Landmarks Commission were grateful to the public for informing them. They only were notified by a big painted white “X” on the trees.

She said she is “disturbed” by the lack of communication surrounding the trees, and that on numerous occasions, HLC has requested information and that the issue be put on the HLC agenda for discussion.

“There are barely words for this sad state of affairs and utter destruction of the sacred Italian stone pines along Anapamu Street,” Ensberg said.

City Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon is upset with the city’s process for the tree removal.

“There’s clearly been a process issue when the Historic Landmarks Commission was not consulted, and is not front and center in the discussion about the care, the maintenance and the future planning of these landmarks,” Sneddon said.

Sneddon attended Santa Barbara High School and has fond memories of the pines.

“They are so beautiful,” Sneddon said. “The canopy is such an iconic part of the experience of Santa Barbara. When you see the trees removed is when you can really see how important they are.”