Ficus trees on Main Street were the main focus of a Friday, March 16, meeting between Seal Beach District 1 Councilwoman Ellery Deaton and her constituents. Assistant City Manager Sean Crumby also attended the gathering at a local coffee shop.
Six residents attended the Friday morning meeting, which took place from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. at Bogart’s Cafe.
Deaton holds these meetings on a semi-regular basis to hear Old Town residents’ concerns.
Last week’s meeting was primarily about the ficus trees.
“Obviously, the trees have been a huge issue,” Deaton said.
The ficus tree issue will come back to the next meeting of the City Council, according to a Friday, March 16 email to the Sun from Mayor Michael Levitt. Mayor Levitt cast the only vote against the landscaping plan because he opposes planting ficus trees.
The ficus trees are part of larger landscaping plan for Seal Beach’s Main Street. The plan calls for the removal of non-ficus trees and their replacement with ficus. In all 25 ficus trees and 17 planters will be installed on Main Street.
The landscaping plan also calls for new lighting. Deaton said the lighting would be below the canopy of the trees.
Resident Andrew Chiu wasn’t sure this was necessary. “I never thought that Main Street was that dark,” he said.
Addressing concerns about the growth rate of ficus tree roots, Deaton said, that one of the things that makes the roots go crazy is heavy pruning of ficus trees.
Deaton, who was part of the council majority supporting the project, said ficus trees were difficult, but one of the few that would grow on Main Street. She said selection of the trees was difficult.
A man who did not identify himself said was a luxury expense.
Assistant City Manager Crumby disagreed.
“This is an investment in one of our biggest assets,” he said.
(The Sun is taking a poll that asks: Should Seal Beach reconsider putting ficus trees, which some say are problematic, on Main Street? To vote in the poll, scroll to the bottom of the sunnews.org home page and click on “to vote.”)
Chiu said what was lacking on Main Street was an anchor business. He said that when the dinner hour is over, business is done. He said business would be different if Fresh & Easy were on Main Street.
“Right now, I have to force myself to go to Main Street,” he said.
“You have to have something that’s not a nail salon; that’s not a luxury,” Chiu said.
He also expressed concern about the future development of the empty lot at Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway. He said he did not want the main entrance to Main Street to be two parking lots.
He described the parking lot on the opposite corner as a “business killer.”
Thirteenth Street resident Kevin J. Gilhooley, dressed in a green suit for St. Patrick’s Day and Irish American heritage month, said his street could use painted parking space.
Crumby said that would reduce parking.
Chiu said the problem was that people with garages didn’t park their cars in their garages.
