City Sidewalk Plan Sacrifices a Tree

Three courses of new sidewalks costing $331,000 will start construction after the San Clemente City Council Tuesday voted to award the bid.

The projects will start with a six-foot-wide course along Avenida La Costa from Plaza a la Playa to Calle Monte Cristo. That length is set to be finished by Memorial Day Weekend according to staff reports.

The La Costa project was the subject of some contention at the Tuesday meeting. The resident at 2306 Calle Monte Cristo will lose a eucalyptus tree to the construction, a tree which he says is important to protecting his privacy and blocking pedestrian noise.

Tom Frank, the city's transportation engineer, said, however, the street was too narrow to build the sidewalk around the tree, and even if the city did, the roots would be so compromised that its survival would be questionable.

The city council voted unanimously to give the resident a landscaping budget from the city to replace the tree further back from the planned sidewalk.

The two other approved projects included in the first phase of the 2013 sidewalk program along La Paloma from West Mariposa to Calle Puente, where a walk will be installed along the eastbound side of the street.

Also set for construction is a walk along North Calle Seville from Cabrillo to West Avenida Palizada on the northbound side.