The Rag finally heard back from the Liberty Station Community Association, which is responsible for maintaining the grounds at Liberty Station, about the removal of at least 20 large trees last week.
Sarah Olsen, property manager of Liberty Station Community Association c/o Reliable Property Management Services, sent us the following email:
Please see the following regarding the Landscape Renovation project at Liberty Station:
“This area is slated for renovation on summer break this year as part of the Liberty Station Landscape Improvement plan. While the trees in this area are certainly beautiful and mature, the roots have created an unsafe environment – particularly for the many students who utilize this area – with trip hazards as well as building structure issues with the surrounding school buildings, plumbing, and sewer systems. These trees have also expired their anticipated lifecycle and are in decline, unfortunately, and the realistic next step is to have them replaced.
Rest assured that the plan includes replacing these trees with better fitted tree species for the area, and more trees will be planted than are extracted. The overall goal of this project is to ensure the safety and enjoyment of the promenade for student activities as well as Liberty Station patrons.”
Thank you, Sarah
Reliable Property Management Services can be found at 3555 Rosecrans Street, Suite 114 – 210, San Diego, CA 92110. Main: 858.201.6008 ext 7210. Sarah@rpmsca.com
The Rag has been contacted by parents and teachers at High Tech High who are upset that the trees were removed — without their knowledge or input.
Now flash back almost exactly two years ago, in June 2022.
Two large eucalyptus trees near the entrance of Liberty Station were taken down, and a local resident complained to the media:
“These trees have been here easily for 100 years. They’re about 150 feet tall, and there’s no replacing that as kind of our gate guards into the entrance of Liberty Station.”
That resident “told the news station that she spoke to the tree service company who told her the trees were healthy but were hired to take them down.”
Plus the resident “was also upset that the community wasn’t informed and had no voice in the process ….”
She said: “We have a really responsive and involved community here in Point Loma. So, there was unfortunately just no community involvement at all. If they’re going to take down the trees we’d like to know why and we’d like to be involved in that process.”
Sound familiar? She also stated:
“We just hope that it stops here and they don’t continue with the grove to our east. Because these trees are important for noise abatement and pollution and also because they look beautiful and are a part of Liberty Station’s history.”
ABC 10News reached out to Liberty Station about the cutting of the trees and were sent the following:
“To ensure the safety of visitors, tenants and property, Liberty Station made the decision, with the guidance of its tree service provider and certified arborist, to remove the trees which have outgrown their locations and now pose an unacceptable threat. Liberty Station was made aware of possible tree failure that unfortunately could not be managed through trimming and maintenance.
As beautiful fixtures of Liberty Station for years, sections of the timber will be repurposed on-site and segments will be donated to tenants in the Arts District to create furniture, art pieces, and materials for a community garden.”
Translation. People are too busy with their face in their phone not watching where they are walking and we don’t want to get sued.
Latest from property manager: “Thanks for reaching out. As the area is private property intended for public use, the Liberty Station Community Association, along with High Tech administration as previously mentioned, are the decision makers for the landscape improvement project. It was of course accompanied by our expert onsite landscapers, maintenance team, and arborists for the best possible use of the space. This is a renovation project, not redevelopment, and the plans include more trees to be planted than are extracted as already mentioned, along with safe areas for student use and new landscaping. “
lol. “rest assured” is a pretty good tell that sarah had a little help from good ol’ chatgpt
Liberty Station is a private property? Didn’t the City of San Diego (taxpayers) gain ownership of the property in 2000?
I don’t get it. If the trees were removed due to roots vs sidewalks and buildings, the 1) why are they going to plant more trees? 2) did anyone from the public check out the sidewalks to see if they’ve been damaged by the roots or not?
A couple of fact checks about trees, before we get too carried away:
1) Some trees are more likely to damage sidewalks and become pedestrian hazards than others. Any new trees should be selected with an eye toward avoiding hazards.
2) When trees are planted, you can utilize root barriers to avoid potential future damage. When the street trees adjacent to my home were replanted (after replacement of the damaged sidewalk) root barriers were employed to try to prevent future damage.
3) Trees do nothing do abate noise.
Got to disagree Paul on #3. Trees can and do mitigate noise – although we’re not talking about single trees. Lots of trees can cut down the noise. Ever heard of that proverbial tree falling in the forest? (That was just a distraction.)
Agreed, Frank.
Trees can dampen environmental noise.
“… Trees are able to reduce or attenuate sound by intercepting sound waves and changing their behavior. Different plant parts reduce noise by absorbing, deflecting, or refracting sound waves depending on their physical characteristics…”
Okay, let me rephrase what I said. Trees do not do very much to abate noise. The only truly effective means of abating road noise, for example, is a solid wall. Trees will not abate aircraft noise, which is probably the predominant form of noise pollution at Liberty Station.
I once lived very near SR94. The neighbors petitioned Caltrans to put up a sound barrier wall, but at that time Golden Hill was not a very affluent neighborhood had little power. Ultimately, Caltrans did build a wall, but it was not solid cinder blocks and did little to abate road noise.