Cypress trees coming down

Monterey cypress trees outside the courthouse on H Street have been found to be in poor health due to age and sidewalk expansions. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

The city hired an arborist to evaluate the health of the trees after the California Administrative Office of the Courts — which owns the local courthouse — had its own analysis done that recommended they be cut down. The second opinion, however, came to the same conclusion, finding that the trees were in poor health and could potentially be a risk to people and property underneath them.

“You always hate to lose mature trees, but the reality of tree life is that they also decline over time,” Crescent City Manager Rod Butler said. “We have to balance the health of the trees versus the liability issues.”

The trees were planted in the 1950s. Since then pruning and the expansion of the sidewalk around their roots have compromised their integrity and led to additional decay. In some cases, the roots of the trees were even cut to install the sidewalks.

On Thursday, the Crescent City Planning Commission will look at several options for what to do when the trees are removed. Some of these alternatives include replanting Monterey cypress trees in the same location, putting in a different species, or nothing at all. There’s also an option for planting the same amount of Monterey cypress trees in another location where they could thrive.

In a memorandum to the city, the Administrative Office of the Courts suggests any replacement trees should be a species that can be easily trimmed and kept free of the powerlines on H Street. The agency recommends the city plant sycamore trees, similar to the ones that are on 4th Street, because they have “strong growing characteristics in this location.”

The state will pay for the removal of the cypress trees as well as for any replacements that are subsequently planted. Tree removal is expected to take place before the winter storm season.