STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date:
March 24, 2026
BUSINESS
19 SUBJECT: TREE APPROACH(ES) - 2026
RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Receive a presentation from staff regarding various alternatives for trees; and
2. Provide further direction.
SUMMARY OF THE MATTER
Building from discussions in 2025, this staff report asks the Council to discuss and provide direction regarding our approach to tree planting, removal, and maintenance.
DISCUSSION
As the writer of this report (Dave K), I’ll start by saying that trees are part of Laguna Beach’s heritage, culture, and environment – they are valued by many, even treasured, and therefore any discussion of trees in our community can bring out a lot of appropriate emotion, care, and concern. At the same time, many folks reside in Laguna Beach precisely for the ocean views we’re also known for. And while trees can enhance and frame views, they can also block them. This community discussion centers around which perspective should dominate a decision – a view or a tree.
Secondly, this staff report is written by a tree layperson (the City Manager) who knows fairly little about arboriculture, our tree history, and the documents that explain what we do and why we do it (regarding trees, I mean). But I think I can frame issues and debate effectively – more effectively than I can explain tree policy. I apologize in advance for where I have glossed over an aspect of trees or tree maintenance – or view preservation – because of brevity or simple error.
This staff report covers these areas:
1. A reminder of our current pruning schedule.
2. A reminder of our current pruning approach, along with documents that guide it.
3. How we select trees for planting (including the LSHRD)
4. Trips and falls
5. What the Montage entitlement documents say
6. Privately Maintained Trees on Public Rights of Way
1. Current Pruning Schedule. As a reminder, the City’s Public Works & Utilities Department manages the City's roughly 3,100 public trees through an inspection and pruning cycle carried out by contractors working under the direction of the City Arborist.
The City Arborist integrates work planning, maintenance history, and analytics through a web-based GIS software program. Generally, all public trees are inspected and pruned either annually or on a biennial (once every 2 years) cycle. The pruning cycle starts each year in October and ends in June.
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Table 1
As summarized in Table 1, the city is divided into three maintenance sections: Downtown, North, and South pruning sections. The Downtown section trees are inspected and pruned annually. The North section consists of public trees located north of Broadway Street, and the South section consists of public trees located south of Park Avenue. The North and South sections are pruned in alternating years, along with all Downtown section trees. This structure ensures that every City-maintained tree receives inspection and at least one form of pruning maintenance every two years, with Downtown trees, palms, and a select group of other specific trees receiving annual attention due to species characteristics, location, or other considerations.
2. Current Pruning Approach. The City Arborist utilizes several pruning strategies conforming to International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) best management practices and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 pruning standards that are considered appropriate to an individual's species, maturity, condition, and site considerations.
Sometimes a resident or business owner will request a tree be pruned for the purpose of view enhancement, and they may specifically request that the City Arborist employ "topping" or "crown reduction" as the pruning method. Locations that receive these requests on a frequent basis are the Eucalyptus trees along Glenneyre St adjacent to the Glenneyre Parking Structure, and the Eucalyptus trees along Coast Highway adjacent to the Montage. Other requests for crown reduction and Eucalyptus removal come in from residents near the roundabout at Los Robles, El Camino del Mar, and Catalina St.
Crown reduction is a structured and deliberate pruning method used to reduce the height or spread of a tree by selectively cutting back to strong, viable lateral branches capable of assuming apical dominance. A proper reduction cut removes a branch or stem back to a lateral that is at least one-third of the diameter of the removed portion. Crown reduction is an appropriate treatment only in specific circumstances.
This is most commonly performed when the tree is experiencing physiological stress or is in a state of decline. Crown reduction can act as a preservation strategy to extend the functional lifespan of the tree while mitigating risk by removing dead, dying, diseased, and poorly attached tissue across the outer portions of the crown. This is often accompanied by other supportive maintenance practices and/or chemical treatments to support preservation of the tree.
Other instances where crown reductions are warranted are post-failure responses when part of the crown has failed and the remaining crown must be rebalanced or structurally stabilized and unavoidable conflicts North South Downtown Palms
# of Trees 956 1,240 370 562
Annual
or
Biennial?
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Odd
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with buildings or infrastructure when tree removal is not a viable option. It is not appropriate to use for aesthetic reshaping, view enhancement, or convenience-based requests because of the negative consequences to otherwise healthy trees stated above.
The City's approach to maintenance is grounded in proper arboriculture practices and guided by the City's Landscape and Scenic Highways Resource Document (LSHRD), introduced in 1995 and updated in 2018.
Aspects of the LSHRD are referred to in the City's Landscape and Scenic Highways Element (LSHE) which is part of the City's General Plan.
The LSHRD provides maintenance guidance as follows:
• Noting the importance of following ANSI A300 standards; • Pruning should not be done solely to reduce the overall height of a tree or to keep the tree at an arbitrary height or spread; and
• Topping disfigures the tree, severely depletes the tree's food making ability, and renders the tree vulnerable to pests and diseases.
The Landscape and Scenic Highways Element (to the General Plan) also notes:
• Policy 1.4 Ensure that the Laguna Beach landscape will continue to include large mature trees, including eucalyptus, cypress, pines, cedars, palms, and others. Foster preservation of existing large trees.
• Action 1.4.1 Update design guidelines to provide for large trees to remain and be planted at select locations pursuant to Land Use Element Policy 2.6. (Implementation: Short-term) • Action 1.4.2 Because large mature trees are important to community character, discourage the trade-off of approving new building development that blocks views. (Implementation: Short-term) • Policy 2.2 Promote improved long-term pruning techniques to enhance neighborhood views, promote tree health, and produce safe and natural tree form. • Action 2.2.1 Develop and disseminate a pruning guide for the public, utilities, and tree pruners. (Implementation: Mid-term)
• Action 2.2.2 Consider development guidelines and regulations that promote appropriate pruning and discourage severe pruning practices. See action 8.18.1. (Implementation: Mid-term) Readers who want to read more about this issue more should review the City’s presentation in July 2025 about tree pruning practices.
3. Selection of Tree Species. The LSHRD also speaks to tree species along both Coast Highway and Broadway/SR-133. Recommended Street Trees within the LSHRD include (the below is a selected list), but are not limited to:
• For the Downtown highway sections (Broadway, Coast Highway), Silver Dollar Gum, Desert Gum, NZ Christmas Tree, Brisbane Box, Red Flowering Gum, Coral Gum, and Lemon Scented Gum. • For Legion to Cress (PCH): Silver Dollar Gum, NZ Christmas Tree, Brisbane Box, Torrey Pine. • For Cress to Cardinal (PCH): Silver Dollar Gum, NZ Christmas Tree, Brisbane Box, Torrey Pine. • For Cardinal to Lang Park: Sugar Gum, Red-Flowering Gum, Torrey Pine.
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While Eucalyptus is frequently referenced in the LSHRD, as a species they tend to have flammable characteristics. But their relative fire risk, when maintained properly, is contested. While Eucalyptus are not native to the area, they are well-known landmarks, especially downtown. Advocates say they provide a significant and iconic theme for approaches like Broadway and Forest.
It has been a frequent conversation in town to discuss the species’ future here. Table 2 below attempts to summarize key issues for some of the trees identified in the LSHRD, but certainly not all of them.
Table 2
Species Typical Height Trunk Width
Silver Dollar Gum 20-60 ft 1-2 ft
Desert Gum 15-40 ft 0.5-1.5 ft
Red Flowering Gum 15-45 ft 1-2 ft
Sugar Gum 60-120 ft 2-4 ft
Coral Gum 15-30 ft 0.5-1 ft
Lemon-Scented Gum 80-160 ft 2-5 ft
Torrey Pine * 40-80 ft 2-4 ft
Brisbane Box 40-60 ft 1-2 ft
NZ Christmas Tree 20-50 ft 1-2 ft
* Some believe that Torrey Pines should not be planted as a street tree.
Noting the frequent reference to Eucalyptus in the LSHRD (the Gums) – but also noting that the LSHRD includes other non-Eucalyptus options, staff discussed various approaches:
• Adopt a replacement approach that minimizes or otherwise limits the planting of replacement Eucalyptus either citywide or in specific neighborhoods where views or safety should be prioritized.
One approach may be to replace and not replant species like the Silver Dollar Gum, the Sugar Gum, and the Lemon-Scented Gum (given their height and trunk width) – instead focusing on other, smaller Eucalyptus and/or non-Eucalyptus LSHRD options; or
• If the concern is about not having to replace older Eucalyptus trees all at once, consider planting new Eucalyptus amongst older ones, without removing the older ones until such time as removal is warranted and younger trees have grown up around them.
4. Trips and Falls -and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Laguna Beach is a city with infrastructure, especially sidewalks, of various ages. Some sidewalks are nearly 100 years old, others are new or have new sections. One focus of recent maintenance efforts has been to meet ADA requirements for slopes (along the sidewalks and across the sidewalks), as well as where sidewalks are lifted up, arguably by adjacent tree roots.
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It has also been a focus to reduce the number of claims associated with trips and falls, sometimes caused by sidewalks lifted by tree roots. The City has a vendor – Precision Concrete – that both analyzes sidewalk and curb lift (for ADA compliance, among other things) via precise technological measurements. They have to date focused on the downtown and South Coast Highway, and are headed (next week) for North Coast Highway. Precision also remediates issues as they’re found via concrete cutting or “slicing” where feasible.
Where not feasible, replacement is required and that is done through a combination of City maintenance staff (smaller segments) or construction contractors (larger segments).
The City has experienced a significant reduction in trips and falls since this work commenced, and in claims associated with them. For the past two fiscal years, the City averaged 9.5 trip and fall claims per year. For the current fiscal year (with a little more than 3 months to go), the City has received 4 such claims – and none in nearly seven months.
But that work may not be enough when tree roots uplift sidewalks – and sometimes the roots themselves are trip hazards. Tree selection is important here, as some of our older trees and tree species that may not be ideal street trees. A few cases in point are:
• The Eucalyptus along the roundabout at Catalina, Los Robles, and El Camino del Mar; • Ficus along the ocean side of S Coast Highway at the Penguin Café; and • Ficus along both sides of S Coast Highway between Oak Street and Brooks Street (note: in the LSHRD, Zone E [Legion to Cress], none of the four street trees identified as planting options are ficus).
That noted, the flip argument is this: given Ficus’ extensive root system, one could arguably root trim much of the roots that impair ADA access and lift the sidewalk and leave the tree(s) in place – though we would have to be careful not to destabilize the tree, which could cause another liability concern involving tree failure. A more significant canopy pruning would likely be required to reduce the mass of the canopy to avoid breakage or a tree fall during wind and storms (the same could arguably apply to Eucalyptus).
Staff would appreciate direction here. It could be to:
1. Replace trees in these areas with younger trees of the same species (not ideal, but this does address the problem until the trees get much older); or
2. Authorize removal and replanting with a less root-intrusive species that is still within the LSHRD; or
3. Keep the trees and, to the extent possible, do a combination of root reduction and canopy pruning.
5. The Eucalyptus Near the Montage. Residents who live inland from the Montage Resort will sometimes approach the City to encourage a more significant pruning of the Eucalyptus along South Coast Highway. These trees are the responsibility of the Montage Resort to maintain per a set of guidelines adopted in 2002 (and other documents), but it’s not uncommon that the City will review tree maintenance approaches with the resort’s landscape team.
As to what the relevant Montage documents say, one interpretation seems to say that the methods to maintain the Eucalyptus along South Coast Highway are only generally addressed within the key approval TREE APPROACH(ES) - 2026
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documents, and that the more direct requirements for certain trees refer to “Significant Trees” that are within the park site, and not the Eucalyptus by South Coast Highway.
Those documents include:
• The Treasure Island Specific Plan (outlines the types of landscaping required, sets forth the Landscape Maintenance requirements in the October 2002 Guidelines. See pages 23-24 among others); • The Treasure Island Local Coastal Program (identifies the existing Eucalyptus as parts of the overall landscaping plan (see page 221 among others); and
• The October 2002 Landscape Maintenance Guidelines associated with the Resort, Public Park, and Association Properties.
Specifically, in regards to the Guidelines and the Specific Plan (exhibit below), while all trees should be “allowed to grow in and to their natural genetic form and size,…” the Eucalyptus along S Coast Highway are not designated as Significant Trees and may not be subject to the pruning requirements of Section D(4).
Which again seems to leave us in an ambiguous place when it comes to whether anyone can reduce the crown of the Eucalyptus.
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Council may wish to provide direction here as to options for approaching the Montage with any guidance as to maintenance of the S Coast Highway Eucalyptus – this could include:
• Suggesting a more frequent trim cycle that more significantly reduces the crown; and • Meet with the Montage and discuss the Montage’s preferred long-term approach to maintaining the Eucalyptus, consistent with planning approvals.
6. Privately Maintained Trees in the Public Right of Way. One last point of awareness. The community has a significant number of trees (possibly about 3,000) that are located in the public right of way that are privately maintained, also known as Category III Trees, per LBMC 12.06. As the trees age, it’s not infrequent that adjacent property owners who have maintained the trees ask that they no longer be required to do so, or ask that they not be responsible for correcting other issues caused by the privately TREE APPROACH(ES) - 2026
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maintained trees such as pavement or sidewalk concerns. We raise this as an issue which needs a solution at some point, as this may happen more in the future. Solutions may include:
• More formal maintenance agreements that delineate obligations as well as the duration of the agreement;
• The City could, funds permitting, take on responsibility for maintenance on a case-by-case basis; • The City could, funds permitting, take on responsibility for all of the Category 3 trees unless the adjacent property owner specifically requests that they be able to do so.
All of that noted, we on City staff don’t see how we can fund this right now.
In Conclusion. Issues for the Council's discussion include the items presented in the matrix in Attachment
1. Should the Council wish to give additional direction at this meeting, staff would return with a recommended workplan, especially should that require any changes to existing documents.
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
The discussion of this item has no financial impact to the budget at this time.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
The proposed actions are not considered projects at this time, as this is a discussion item only and any policy changes will return to Council at a future date. It is, therefore, not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act review.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Matrix (Pg. 9)
Submitted By: . Approved: .David A Kiff
Dave Kiff, City Manager Dave Kiff, City Manager
Report Prepared By: Coordinated With:
Dave Kiff, City Manager Mark McAvoy, Director of Public Works and Utilities Reza Jafari, Deputy Director/ Public Works and
Utilities
Megan Garibaldi, City Attorney