On Monday, August 26, a group of Mira Mesa residents protested the removal of nearly 70 mature trees from a local park. They said the chopping down and killing of 50 to 75-year-old trees at the Mira Mesa Community Park is not in line with San Diego’s efforts to build out the urban tree canopy as part of its climate action goals.
The trees are set to be removed ostensibly to make room for improvements at the park, including added parking spaces, a proposed pool and skate park, and other improvements, which have been in the works for some time. But residents said they were in the dark about the fact that 68 mature trees in the area would be torn down and replaced with young saplings.
Resident Martha Martin, who organized the protest, told local media:
“I’ve talked to hundreds of residents, those who use the park every day — not a single one of them knew that these trees were coming down.
“There’s no reason we couldn’t design this in a way to keep the benefit of the trees and the benefits of the improvements they want to add. There’s so much space here.”
According to KUSI:
In a statement, city spokesperson Tyler Becker said the project to provide “much-needed improvements” to the Mira Mesa Community Park plans to feature “enhanced landscaping” to offset the impact of the tree removals, including the planting of the 75 saplings.
Becker noted that 81 mature trees will remain untouched and the project will be completed in the summer of 2026.
The demonstrators say the new saplings, while important, won’t be able to provide the same environmental benefits until the trees reach maturation several decades from now, creating short-term pains before the long-term advantages set in.
It’s no secret that urban tree cover has a host of benefits, ranging from pollution and stormwater capture to cooling that alleviates the urban heat island effect — a phenomenon where an urbanized area experiences higher temperatures than outlaying areas.
This is an example of classic double-speech – ‘We have to destroy the trees in order to save the park.’ Similar to the Vietnam-era US military speech ‘We had to destroy the village in order to save it.’
During my long construction career, I saw many, many projects built that took care to work around, and preserve, the existing trees. It can be done. But, what some builders like a clean slate with nothing in their way at all so they don’t make any effort to save trees. That is what this sounds like.
Just look at many subdivisions in California when first constructed. No mature trees, just saplings. The sites were stripped bare to begin with. It looks desolate. Sure, 20 years later they look better after the saplings have grown but that is little consolation today.
The city needs to consider using methods to save as many of those trees as possible. Any tree that is not within two feet of the footprints of what they plan to build, could be saved. It just takes effort.
Why is it that this city loves to cut down trees while at the same time, tooting its horn that it’s so eco-friendly? Geoff, how many cutting-down-tree stories have we done over the last handful of years?
Too many, Frank.
You might get hurt diving into the pool with a tree sticking out of it.
As Geoff said, there can be designs and plans around the trees FCS.
Maybe you missed this sentence, Chris.
“Any tree that is not within two feet of the footprints of what they plan to build, could be saved.”
Perhaps SD lacks the creativity to preserve and build around/ amongst these trees.
I am a writing to express my deep concern over the proposed removal of nearly 70 mature trees from Mira Mesa Community Park. While I understand the desire to improve park facilities with added parking spaces, a pool, and a skate park, the environmental costs associated with these changes warrant serious reconsideration.
Mature trees are not just aesthetic fixtures but vital components of our urban ecosystem. They offer numerous benefits that extend well beyond their immediate surroundings. As highlighted in the recent protest organized by resident Martha Martin, these trees, some between 50 and 75 years old, play a crucial role in supporting our community’s health and well-being.
Mature trees contribute significantly to urban cooling, helping to mitigate the urban heat island effect—a problem that exacerbates heat waves and increases energy consumption. They also play a key role in air quality improvement by capturing pollutants and providing oxygen. Moreover, their extensive root systems help manage stormwater runoff, reducing the risk of flooding and soil erosion. Replacing these trees with young saplings will not yield comparable benefits for decades, creating a gap during which our community will lose out on these essential services.
The argument that enhanced landscaping and new saplings will offset the impact of the removals does not fully address the long-term environmental and social costs. While planting new trees is beneficial, it cannot replace the immediate loss of mature trees, which offer irreplaceable benefits accrued over decades. The time and resources required to grow these saplings to a comparable size and utility are substantial, making the short-term losses even more pronounced.
Furthermore, the fact that many residents were unaware of the planned tree removals underscores a broader issue of community engagement in environmental decisions. Effective urban planning should incorporate public input and strive to balance development needs with the preservation of our natural assets.
In light of San Diego’s climate action goals and the pressing need to build and maintain a robust urban tree canopy, I urge city planners and decision-makers to explore alternative approaches that preserve these mature trees while achieving the park’s improvement objectives. Creative solutions such as redesigning the park layout or integrating new features without extensive tree removal could help us meet our goals without sacrificing our invaluable natural resources.
Let us not trade long-term environmental health for short-term conveniences. We must find a path that respects and preserves our mature trees while enhancing our community spaces.
I don’t know if any of the trees in the photos are slated for death – they’re just some of the trees within the park.