Residents urge Pasadena Unified to halt removal of protected trees, citing ordinance and federal bird-protection law

Multiple Pasadena residents told the Pasadena Unified School District board at a public meeting that district crews have cut down protected, mature trees at local campuses without required city permits and without sufficient remediation alternatives.

Amanda Elliot opened public comment saying “to date, no information has been provided to the city. Yet, trees have been removed. Seven today.” Rebecca Lada, who said she authored Pasadena’s tree-protection ordinance, told the board the district removed trees that met the ordinance’s protection thresholds and said a nest of a black phoebe was removed with debris. “That’s a violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act,” she said, and urged the board to identify who is responsible.

Other speakers described the scale and impacts of the removals. Brian Fulchure, a resident who said he is a professional engineer, cited Pasadena Municipal Code section 8.52 and asked the board to pause removals, call a public hearing and produce credible reports before continuing. “The board’s code of conduct and ethics committee should also be called in to look at this,” he said. Shaina Pelota said at least four trees were cut at John Muir High School, including three coast live oaks, and argued mature oaks cannot be replaced within a generation. Nina Raj, who identified herself as a board member of the San Gabriel Mountains chapter of the California Native Plant Society and a certified UC naturalist, said crews cut three coast live oaks and an American sweet gum despite written city orders to pause and described disturbance to nesting birds.

Multiple commenters proposed alternatives to wholesale removal, including bioremediation approaches that some speakers said had been used in neighboring jurisdictions; speakers also raised concerns about possible soil lead levels and community health. Nina Raj said lead readings were low enough in some samples that organic remediation could have been considered. Commenters said the removals have continued while litigation related to school closures is pending and urged greater transparency, posting of documents, and a formal public-review process.

The transcript records the public comments and the speakers’ requests; no formal response from the district or staff action on tree removal was recorded in the public portions of the meeting in the provided transcript. The board recessed to closed session and later returned with “no reportable action taken.”