Parks commission denies removal of coast live oak at 408 Los Robles

The Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Commission voted Feb. 26 to deny a request to remove a coast live oak in the front setback at 408 Los Robles Lane.

The commission’s action follows a Street Tree Advisory Committee review and staff findings that the tree is a large, generally healthy coast live oak with some close stem attachments but no documented imminent failure. The owner and resident Maura Mitchell urged removal at the meeting, citing wildfire risk, ongoing trimming costs and an inability to secure an arborist willing to reduce the canopy to the 10 feet of defensible space the speakers said the fire department requires.

Staff forestry specialist Mr. Slack told the commission that committee arborists noted poor branch attachments among three stems but said normal maintenance would likely keep…