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Residents and urban-forestry advocates urge Pasadena council to halt PUSD's large tree removals
Summary
Multiple residents, Urban Forestry Advisory Committee members and students told Pasadena's City Council that Pasadena Unified School District is removing 193 healthy trees across 11 campuses without the city's required permits and urged the council to review whether PUSD improperly used an emergency exemption.
Several Pasadena residents and urban-forestry advocates pressed the Pasadena City Council on June 16 to intervene in what they described as an unnecessary, large-scale tree-removal effort by Pasadena Unified School District. Jessica Richards, speaking in her individual capacity and a member of the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee, said she obtained written guidance from the Department of Toxic Substances Control indicating DTSC does not require removal of all trees as part of soil remediation.
"No one is arguing that these trees are hazardous," Richards told the council. "PUSD has skated around our strong tree protection ordinance. They need permits to remove all 193 trees." She asked the council to enforce the city's ordinance and preserve the urban canopy for students.
Other speakers echoed those concerns. Tim Martinez, an Urban Forestry Advisory Committee member speaking as a Pasadena resident and former PUSD student, said he had seen successful soil remediation projects that preserved mature trees and questioned the city's use of an emergency permitting provision intended for imminent hazards. "This exemption was written for trees that are about to fall on top of someone's head," Martinez said, "and nobody is claiming these trees are hazardous."
Council members responded by asking staff to review jurisdictional authority and the legal basis for permit exemptions. Councilmember Hampton described PUSD's communications to neighbors as "lackluster" and asked whether the city could pause removals until the council had clarity on whether the project should have come through the city's tree-permit process. Councilmember Cole said he had been made aware of no state law that clearly exempts PUSD from complying with Pasadena's tree protections and urged the city manager's office to alert the school district to the need to resolve jurisdictional questions.
Mayor Gordo and staff said the city manager's office would examine the distinction between the state education code and environmental protections and return with more information. No formal action requiring PUSD to stop work was taken at the meeting; the council's direction was to have staff clarify jurisdiction and report back.
Next steps: Council directed staff to analyze whether PUSD properly invoked an emergency exemption to the city's tree ordinance, to brief the full council on jurisdictional issues and to consider revisiting the matter if the review finds the removals bypassed permit requirements.
