Residents lose battle for old neighborhood tree

A group of northwest Huntington Beach residents unsuccessfully banded together July 17 to prevent the eleventh-hour removal of a decades-old, city-owned tree in their neighborhood.

When the residents learned the tree on Galway Circle was going to be cut down within hours, they began making calls to the city, seeking answers and trying to stop the removal. They hired an arborist to determine whether the tree in question was a risk to the sewage system.

About a dozen neighbors stood at one end of the street, awaiting 10:30 a.m., when crews standing on the other end of the cul-de-sac were slated to begin the tree removal.

Crews removed the tree while neighbors pleaded with the city to postpone its removal until more research could be done on whether the tree impacted the home’s sewer line.

“There’s not enough information for people to make an educated decision,” resident Laura DuBow said.

The issue of tree cutting has been contentious among neighbors, many of whom have addressed the City Council and other officials in recent weeks.

“We try to save the trees whenever possible,” city representative Laurie Payne said.

“It’s going to be replaced with a big tree. Of course we understand the tree, and the attachment that the residents have to it.”

— Candice Baker