The Beverly Hills City Council changed direction after press time last week on removing 195 tree stumps from two vacant properties known as Parcels 12 and 13 between Santa Monica Boulevard and Civic Center Drive.

The work was initially scheduled to begin on May 19 but was postponed pending further consideration by the City Council on June 13. The council directed city staff to remove the stumps during a May 16 study session, and later decided to revisit the issue in June.

The stump removal will enable crews to complete gutter and curb repairs along the south side of Santa Monica Boulevard as part of a boulevard reconstruction project. Plans also call for an irrigation system and new fencing to be installed around the property. New landscaping will also be planted.

The trees were cut down in 2015 by the property’s private owner, the Beverly Hills Land Company (BHLC). Thirteen of the stumps are on a two-foot strip running along Santa Monica Boulevard that is the city’s public right of way. The others straddle the property line on land jointly owned by the city and BHLC.

Opponents of the removal contend that only the 13 stumps on the city right of way should be removed. The tree removal in 2015 was controversial because it was done without public notice, and crews hired by the BHLC did not request or receive a permit necessary to close a lane on Santa Monica Boulevard for the removal.

Some residents want the stumps not entirely on city property to be preserved as evidence if a civil lawsuit is filed in the future against the BHLC.