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Commission sends Victoria sidewalk widening plan to design review subcommittee after residents raise landscaping concerns
Summary
Deputy public works director Sean Ryan presented a conceptual plan to widen the Victoria sidewalk and repair eroding wing walls; commissioners asked for renderings showing options with and without a landmark coral tree and voted to send the item to the Design Review Subcommittee to refine landscaping, shade and public‑realm details.
The commission voted to return the Victoria Sidewalk Widening Project to the Design Review Subcommittee for additional landscape‑focused review after staff described a maintenance‑scale plan to widen the sidewalk by roughly 8 feet for about 275 feet, install deepened footings/helico piles to mitigate erosion, repair wing walls and add new tile murals.
Deputy public works director Sean Ryan said the project’s primary objective is public safety: the existing path narrows near the trolley stop and “drops off” sharply, creating an injury risk when the stop is crowded. He described a two‑phase scope: sidewalk widening and wing‑wall repair (phase one) and later tunnel and concrete repairs (phase two), with combined budgeted CIP funds of about $450,000 and a two‑month construction window proposed outside the summer season.
Why it matters: The site is at a multimodal pinch point where trolley, train and pedestrian flows converge near the pier. The design affects public safety, adjacent landscaping and an area residents consider emblematic of the pier bowl’s character.
Public commenters urged preserving shade, trees and bird habitat. Laura Smith said she saw the area at peak use and worried that removing the coral tree and shrubs would sterilize the pier entrance and reduce bird habitat. Larry Golderson recommended the plan be reviewed by the Planning Commission’s design subcommittee and sought clarification about the project’s visual impacts and whether the coral tree could survive proposed excavation.
Commissioners and staff agreed the project should proceed but requested side‑by‑side renderings that show the coral tree both retained and removed, and they asked the DRSC to study options that preserve or replace shade with longer‑lived native trees and provide more detailed landscape choices. The commission’s motion — to send the item to the Design Review Subcommittee with a focus on landscaping, expanded shade options and renderings showing both scenarios (preference indicated to keep the coral tree) — passed (recorded vote: 5 in favor, 2 abstentions).
Next steps: Staff will return the project to the DRSC for the targeted review requested by the commission and produce comparison renderings showing the design with and without the coral tree and with enhanced shade strategies for public review.
