LA Budget Cuts Endanger Coral Trees and Residents in Brentwood

Coral trees on San Vicente median (Vicki Talbot)

LA City budget cuts for the famous coral trees on San Vicente Boulevard endanger their fragile health and can be very dangerous, says Brentwood Community Council president Nancy Freedman.

The trees are a Cultural Heritage Monument of the City of Los Angeles.  Joggers and pedestrians enjoy a grassy interlude in the busy urban landscape. But, without maintenance, their shallow root system cannot support the heavy, full green canopies. The trees have to be trimmed annually. And they are susceptible to overwatering, a condition that has toppled many trees in rainy years past.

"A limb could break on your head," said Freedman. "Last rain, everybody had their fingers crossed."

So local community members have mobilized a campaign to permanently take care of the precious trees.
An endowment fund was created in 1984 by the late Barbara Goldman, a beloved community philanthropist. She raised a quarter of a million dollars for SOS Coral Trees after a dozen trees collapsed in one year. The fund is quickly running out of money. 

In the past, Los Angeles partnered with the organization to share costs. Now, Brentwood is on its own. The SOS Coral Trees fund is down to the last $90,000. Maintenance can cost as much as $25,000 a year. Each year, a few trees are lost to overwatering; others succumb to being top-heavy. The organization has been able to replace the trees with new, healthy trees and to maintain them to avoid problems. 

Chaired by residents Mary Ann Lewis, Jim Thomas and Bob Berglass, the Brentwood Coral Tree Endowment Fund is a project of Brentwood 90049, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization formed to promote and protect the long-term health of these beautiful trees. 

A giant Coral Tree stands on the median
 at San Vicente and Gorham (Vicki Talbot)