BEVERLY HILLS—On February 13, the city of Beverly Hills announced that it will remove close to 100 Ficus trees. The decades-old trees have become a staple in the region with giant Ficus trees in Beverly Gardens. Those trees will not be removed.

Beverly Hills

Deputy City Manager, Keith Sterling indicated that about 87 trees on Robertson Boulevard will be removed. Canyon News reached out Sterling for more information. 

“When it comes to a city that celebrates and nurtures its urban forest, Beverly Hills is at the top of the list.  We are always mindful and thoughtful about tree replacement whenever a landscape is changed and, in this case, it has now become a safety issue.

Robertson Boulevard is one of the City’s major commercial corridors with a large number of thriving businesses and relatively high pedestrian traffic.  The existing sidewalk has a high frequency of repair needs due to the trees located adjacent to the sidewalk. In addition, we’ve received several trip and fall claims in the last few years.

The Robertson Sidewalk Improvements project will address existing and future sidewalk issues by replacing the existing sidewalk, inspecting, and removing any trees deemed necessary by the City Arborist, installing lighting and outlets for holiday décor lighting, installing irrigation for the new trees and the installation of storm water capture devices to replenish the City’s groundwater table after storm events.”

There have been some efforts to save the trees before they are cut down. One citizen, Wendy Klenk, reportedly went door-to-door getting signatures for a petition against the removal of the aged old trees, as discussed during the February 7 study session.

Some residents voiced their disdain for the removal of the Ficus trees removal, during the study session. Business owners who have had to clean up messy droppings from the trees have noted they are not sad to see them go.

Reports indicate public safety is one of the reasons, the trees must be removed. Some people have tripped over the trees’ large roots. According to city officials, new sidewalks with no trees to block the walking path are in the works of being developed.