Map of Ocean Beach’s New Heritage Torrey Pines

Yesterday, Kris Schlech wrote a short post about how Ocean Beach just gained 8 new Heritage Trees – all Torrey Pines.

This was due to the sustained efforts of Friends of Peninsula Trees – the group that formed to fight the removal of a huge Torrey Pine on Saratoga Avenue last summer.

Torrey pines – and other trees for that matter – that have gained Heritage Tree designation have special protections and if the city or its contractor deem a Heritage Tree must be removed, they must exercise other genuine mitigation efforts before chopping.

So, here is a map of OB’s new Torrey Pine Heritage Trees.  (Map only shows 6 of the trees.) There’s 6 on Saratoga – with 5 on the 4600 block – where used to stand nearly ten towering Torreys. There’s 1 up the hill on the next block of Saratoga.

Here is a closer look at the 6 new Heritage Torrey Pines.

A seventh is located at 4633 Long Branch – this is the one saved by environmentalists working with the OB Rag – 6 years ago. The eighth is also well-known, as it sits right across Greene Street from the controversial construction project at the corner of Greene and Ebers. It has been recently damaged not only by construction equipment at the site but also more recently by the city itself when a work crew replaced a section of the street right in front of the tree.

When OBceans first moved to nominate the Torrey Pines as Heritage Trees back in September, we reported on what it means for the trees:

Once these trees are evaluated and deemed eligible, they will be afforded additional protection in several ways.

Each tree will be assessed and evaluated in terms of overall health, and a monetary value will be determined. The monetary value is important as it is used to assess penalties, at a 3:1 ratio, for any damages or unnecessary death of the tree. For example, a large Torrey pine in Mission Beach was recently nominated and was estimated to have a value in the 5-figure range, so potential penalties for damage are significant.

In addition, issues such as tree health, public safety, and overall function and value of each tree are given more extensive consideration. Alternatives such as sidewalk re-contouring, metal grating, corrective pruning and any other feasible alternatives to removal must be considered first. The trees are also then specifically identified in the City’s Master Tree Inventory, which is scheduled to be updated by 2019, and go on record as being labeled in one or more categories as Landmark, Historic, Parkway, or Grove trees of significance.

Of course, congrats are due to the folks who worked to gain these Heritage Tree designations. If you know of a Torrey Pine on public land or right-of-way, please contact the Save Peninsula Tree people, or contact us at obragblog@gmail.com and we’ll forward any messages.