SAN DIEGO — Just outside Rebecca Byrom’s Kensington home, there are three trees, three pepper trees to be exact, that have stood through 19 presidents, two world wars and countless storms and droughts.
“I can’t quite understand exactly what the beef is with the city as to why they would want to remove such beautiful trees," she said.
Next week, the City of San Diego has plans to cut these pepper trees down. A spokesperson declined an interview, but in an email wrote that after an inspection from the city arborist, he decided that the pepper trees on Marlborough Street needed to be removed.
The spokesperson said in part: “In all cases, these street trees have significant amount of decay, are no longer viable street trees, and pose a significant risk to our community in the right of way.”
He included pictures of similar pepper trees in the area that were taken down for the same reason where the rot is visible from the inside.
“I don’t want anything that would ever create a danger for anyone, but I’m not sure that’s the case,” Byrom said.
Neighbors in the area say that the trees are healthy and have never had an issue with losing branches. The neighbors brought in an independent arborist, who after a visual inspection, said he didn’t see enough evidence for the trees to be removed.
But as of Friday, the city will move forward with its plans to cut down the three pepper trees on Marlborough street. The spokesperson says that it’s not a decision that the city takes lightly, and they offer free trees as a replacement.
Byrom laments the day she walks out of her house to see a stump where the tree used to be. “I can’t imagine what it’s going to look like. Certainly not pretty," she said.
As for Byrom and the rest of the neighbors in Kensington, they hope the city takes another look at the trees that have stood for more than a century. “I hope that the city will reconsider and take a little bit of time on this,” she said.
