Council OKs Planting 288 Trees Downtown

A proposal to plant nearly 300 trees in Town Center as part of a beautification project won City Council approval this week.

With the help of about 40 residents at a public workshop Tuesday, council members and city staffers worked out the details of the $525,000 project that officials said they hope will revitalize downtown by drawing more shoppers and tourists.

The tree planting is the first phase of a downtown renewal that could take as long as 15 years and cost as much as $10 million.

“Our plan is to provide a softening effect and to bring uniformity to the town,” said Patrick Murphy of Forsum/Summers & Murphy Inc., the landscape architectural firm hired to design the project. “We really need to bring back the pedestrian.”

Under the plan, 288 yellow-blossomed Tipu trees will be planted in the “couplet” area bordered by Del Prado Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway. Also, an irrigation system will be installed, geraniums will be planted around the tree wells and improvements will be made to sidewalks, said Morton F. August, director of public works.

For now, the council put off planting additional trees or adding lighting fixtures and cast-iron tree grates, which could have cost as much as $2.4 million. The city has budgeted $700,000 this year for the project.

“We’re trying to do as much as possible with as little as possible,” August said.