CORONADO, Calif. — With five pine trees slated for removal next week, Coronado residents are fighting back to save them. A lawsuit was filed this week against the City of Coronado in an attempt to reverse the city council’s decision to remove the trees behind the public library.
“These trees have been here longer than we have. If left to their own devices, they will outlive all of us. They are beautiful, they are symbols of our history,” said Christine Mott, one of several plaintiffs suing the City of Coronado over the slated removal.
“Trees provide us with oxygen, with shade, with beauty, with habitat for wildlife. They’re part of our community and they have a right to be here,” said Mott.
The Coronado Lawn Bowling Club, which has 100 members, leases a space from the city behind the library. They say roots from 4 Canary Island Pines are intruding under the subsurface of their green, causing fungus and mushrooms to grow, which in turn, creates an uneven surface.
“We have noticed over the past few years naturally, uprooting of our green from mushrooms, and so that’s an issue that the roots of the trees are creating a problem, so we left it in the city council’s hands,” said Michael Lane, president of Coronado Lawn Bowling Club.
At their July meeting, the Coronado City Council voted to remove the trees as part of a turf replacement project for the Lawn Bowling Club, and the vote was reaffirmed in August.
“I’m going to cry because this is, we have beautiful trees and I don’t understand,” said Peggy Swagemakers, who was born and raised in Coronado. “It isn’t right, it isn’t right. I’m sorry for the City of Coronado that they would let this happen.”
A lawsuit was filed this week on behalf of Mott and three other residents, as well as the Animal Rescue and Protection League, a California nonprofit. The judge granted a temporary restraining order barring the removal of the trees for the time being. The City confirmed with CBS 8 that they’ve paused the removal due to the litigation.
“This feels amazing, we’re speaking for the trees,” said Mott. “It’s just such a shame to see that people would disregard the history and beauty of these trees.”
As for the lawn bowlers, club president Michael Lane says they just want to stop any further damage to their playing field.
“What we’re trying to do is save that subsurface, not have to remove it all, so really, the longer we have to go with the destruction, the more damage to the subsurface that will be created,” said Lane.
A protest will be held Saturday on D Avenue and 7th Street to express support for keeping the trees in place.
“Providing shade and comfort and cooling air, we already have a polluted beach, let’s try to do the best we can,” said Swagemaker.
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