LAKESIDE TREES TO BE REMOVED
Despite protests and efforts to move jacarandas on Woodside Avenue, county says they will be gone by Friday
The county confirmed Monday that two dozen jacaranda trees will be removed by Friday in Lakeside, dashing hopes of the community that they could be saved.
San Diego County spokeswoman Donna Durckel said the trees that line a vacant lot on Woodside Avenue are still scheduled for removal by a private contractor this week to make way for a new county library.
Grading started Monday for the 16,400-square-foot library, which will be three times larger than the nearly 60-year-old branch two blocks away. The new $19 million facility will have a community room for events, a bookstore, and large spaces for children and teenagers.
A group of about 15 people showed up at 8 a.m. Monday morning with signs reading “Save the Trees” and “Trees Matter,” picking trees to glom onto as workers began razing the site behind them.
Organizer Billy Ortiz said he wanted to send a message that the purple-flower-bearing trees, planted in 2012 by residents to brighten a blighted area, should remain. He said one of the contractors at the site told him that the trees were going to stay until they received clearance from the county to take them down.
But Durckel said the county Department of General Services said the trees will be removed by Friday.
“Well, at least we tried. We went out kicking. We did the best we could to save our trees,” said Betty “Scoop” McMillen, the unofficial historian of Lakeside. “I really thought we had a
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better chance to keep them. I appreciate that the community came out to help.”
The county says the tree roots are growing toward a utility easement established by the city of San Diego to protect existing water lines that connect the property to the main water service.
County officials say other trees interfere with the construction of the parking lot and number of spaces needed for the library and construction of the building itself. The contractor has a landscape design that includes new mature trees that will be planted beyond
the 50-foot easement.
Durckel said that the county has done its diligence in reaching out to the community. In March 2020, she said the county initially met with Terry Burke-Eiserling, chair of the Friends of the Lakeside Library, and a committee created in coordination with former county Supervisor Dianne Jacob.
Durckel said that group included Kathy Kassel of the Lakeside Chamber of Commerce and Janice Shackelford of the Lakeside Design Review Board. Durckel said the group was involved in a committee that helped choose the winning design.
The county also held a second meeting last July with nearly 50 community members, she said, and the design plan was presented at virtual meetings that allowed for public review and comment.
A third meeting was held March 12 with Burke-Eiserling, McMillen and others.
“The county explained why the trees couldn’t stay and offered a right of entry to anybody willing to take the trees,” Durckel said of last month’s meeting. “There have been no takers to date.”
Burke-Eiserling said she has tried to find homes for the trees. She said she called around to eight places, including the San Diego Zoo, with no interest.