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Council contemplates trees, waste
by John Tawa
How do the city and its residents take care of their urban forest? That was a question the city staff posed to the city council Tuesday evening preceding a discussion of the city's 5,000-10,000 street trees located on public right-of-ways throughout the city.
Public Works Director Neil Miller told the council that the city's Municipal Code requires property owners to maintain the trees and sidewalks in front of their homes, even though they are located in the public right of way. Miller said that many residents either are not aware of their responsibilities to maintain the trees and/or don't know how to maintain them. Overgrown or dying trees are a frequent result, not to mention animosity from attempts to enforce the regulations.
Miller said that the solution would be for the city to take over maintenance of street trees and sidewalks. The estimated annual cost -- $400,000 - would necessitate a funding source, most likely an enhancement to the existing Landscape and Lighting District. That would require a Proposition 218 election.
"It makes sense for the city to do it," commented Mayor pro tem Tim Lilligren. "But spending an additional $400,000 to $500,000 a year? I just don't see it happening without assessment districts."
The council ultimately agreed to consider the first steps toward taking over care of the urban forest. The cost to inventory the city's street trees and to survey residents whether to increase the landscaping and lighting assessment to maintain the trees and sidewalks will be included as items in upcoming budget discussions.
In other news, the council agreed to renew its participation in the Community Hazardous Waste Facility located in Redondo Beach. But it will send a letter urging the city of Redondo Beach, which operates the facility, to recruit other area communities to participate in disposing of household hazardous wastes at the facility. That would help reduce the costs Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach share to operate the facility, as well as reducing hazardous wastes that make their way into the ocean through storm drains.
The council also adopted a resolution supporting the city of El Segundo's pending lawsuit against Los Angeles World Airways. El Segundo's suit charges the airport with violating the California Environmental Quality Act by ignoring the cumulative effects of construction projects within LAX, which expand capacity at the airport without environmental review and outside the context of the Master Plan process.
Finally, the council also followed the lead of the California Coastal Commission, adopting a resolution opposing the construction by Mitsubishi of the world's largest salt factory in Laguna San Ignacio, Mexico. Laguna San Ignacio is the last pristine breeding and calving area in the world for the California Gray Whale. ER