Thirty-six ficus trees remain on Robertson Boulevard in Beverly Hills, pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed against the city. (photo by Edwin Folven)

After Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant issued a preliminary injunction on July 27 prohibiting the removal of approximately 48 ficus trees on Robertson Boulevard, a trial setting conference scheduled for Sept. 26 was moved to Nov. 28.

Attorney Jamie Hall, who represents a community group that filed the original lawsuit to block the city from removing the ficus trees, said that the hearing was moved, “to allow the parties to continue settlement discussions.”

On July 27, a community group that includes business owner Wendy Klenk, saw their months of effort result in a victory, when Chalfant issued a preliminary injunction essentially stopping the city of Beverly Hills from removing any more trees until the case concludes. More than half of the trees planned for removal have already been uprooted. However, in his 32-page ruling, Chalfant noted that the plaintiff was likely to succeed.

“Unless the city comes up with a completely new argument, I don’t see how they’re going to convince the judge they’re going to win,” Hall said in July.

“This was only a preliminary injunction,” Beverly Hills City Attorney Laurence Wiener said. “The judge indicated what his views were at this time, so there’s always that possibility.”

The city has been permitted to continue sidewalk repairs without removing any more trees in the meantime. Thirty-six ficus trees remain on Robertson Boulevard in Beverly Hills. The Robertson Sidewalk and Tree Replacement Project has been steeped in controversy since the work began at the start of this year.

“The overgrown roots of the ficus trees along the sidewalks of Robertson Boulevard have lifted up the concrete panels of the sidewalk and caused an uneven surface around the trees,” read the project summary. “To repair the damaged sidewalk, the roots within eight inches of the sidewalk surface need to be removed to allow for the installation of a new sidewalk. The city’s arborist has inspected each tree and determined that the health of the trees would be negatively impacted by the removal of the roots needed to repair the damaged sidewalk, and the majority of the trees will need to be removed to allow for the installation of the new sidewalk.”

The city plans to replace the removed trees with alternating crepe myrtle trees and Mexican fan palms upon completion of the sidewalk repair work.

“The tree removal and future planting will be performed by the city’s contracted professional tree maintenance and management firm, West Coast Arborists, and will be supervised by a city urban forest inspector,” the city report stated.

Those plans were dealt a setback when Chalfant put a stop to the removal of the trees. The two parties now have another two months to reach a settlement that satisfies both before returning to court.

Crews are continuing the sidewalk repair work while the tree removal remains on hold. (photo by Edwin Folven)