Thank you to everyone that: spread the word, showed up in person, participated online and submitted emails. Thanks to our collective five day mobilization sprint, we reset a truly destructive proposal. Our work just started but we must celebrate the receptiveness of our council, the bravery of our children and the passion of our community. We protected the trees for one more month. Thank you all for your actions!
We are fully committed to follow through with this process — until we can say we've fully protected these trees. Please be on the look out for updates to this site.
Pause the amendment and fast-track a process to address hazardous trees while maintaining strong protections. Adopt an urban forestry plan, enforce on-site replacements, require permits for Public Works, and restore community notifications. South Pasadena deserves higher standards of tree management.
The new tree amendment strips protections from most of our trees, leaving them vulnerable to unchecked removal. The rest of our trees have relaxed permits and minimal public notice. With developers soon poised to ramp up activity, this reckless policy threatens to displace wildlife while decimating our tree canopy, shade, clean air, and unique charm that make our city special.
The city wants Public Works to operate without interference from the public. We’ve had issues reaching their arborist. Even the City Council complained about how slow and non-existent they are. How is giving them more discretion a good idea or good for our trees?
On October 1, 2025 at 7pm our city council is voting to approve this amendment. The results will be devastating.
Amended Tree Ordinance (pg. 35-56)
They made it confusing on purpose. Fortunately we've conducted an analysis of the current ordinance and the proposed amendment. We've highlighted the issues below:
Only a small percentage of our trees are protected; see the short list of natives (pg. 5). The amendment allows the vast majority of our trees, which are non-natives, to be cut down without a permit (foregoing the notification and appeal process). Since our non-natives are no longer protected, this drops the replacement tree requirements. The end result is less trees—this is guaranteed.
Make a list of known problem trees while encouraging removal and replacement.
The existing ordinance has vague language regarding having to plant a replacement tree on-site. The amendment closes this loophole and gives a clear path to off-site planting. This is where it would help to reference Pasadena’s requirements; they require 50% of the replacements on-site. With the large amount of development coming to South Pasadena's future this is critical.
Public Works decides what tree can be removed without notifying the public. Since they don't need a permit, any tree can be taken down at their discretion. With no staff arborist or an ability to speak with their contracted arborist decisions are in bad hands. There is no urban forestry plan. Public Works is looking into grants mid next year. By the time a plan is finally set the damage that can happen between now and then is not acceptable.
Currently notifications go out for all tree removal applications. There is transparency. The proposal limits notifications only for permit denials that are appealed. This removes community oversight.
These are the four key issues we've found analyzing the documents side by side. Then we asked ChatGPT to do its own analysis and here's what it found.
Click to expand.
Here are their emails:
oferguson@southpasadenaca.gov, srossi@southpasadenaca.gov, jprimuth@southpasadenaca.gov, mcacciotti@southpasadenaca.gov, jbraun@southpasadenaca.gov, ccpubliccomment@southpasadenaca.gov
And if you have writer’s block, use this form email:
Urgent: Halt Tree Ordinance Amendment and Fast-Track Hazardous Tree Process
Dear Council Members, Desire: I strongly urge you to stop the Tree Ordinance Amendment’s approval. South Pasadena, the "City of Trees," needs robust tree protections to preserve our environment and community identity. Reason: The amendment undermines tree preservation by: - Removing protections for non-native trees (>12"), allowing unchecked removals without permits, notifications, or replacements, guaranteeing fewer trees. An urban forestry plan and a list of problem trees is needed first. - Weakening on-site replacement rules, enabling off-site planting. Pasadena’s 50% on-site standard should be adopted, with the future developments happening this is critical. - Allowing Public Works to remove trees without permits or transparency, stripping community input. - Eliminating notification and appeal processes for most trees, giving Public Works unchecked control. Impact: Approving this without an urban forestry plan risks irreversible tree loss. Deregulation, intended to boost compliance, historically harms the environment and enables more unpermitted removals. Vision: Pause the amendment and fast-track a process to address hazardous trees while maintaining strong protections. Adopt an urban forestry plan, enforce on-site replacements, require permits for Public Works, and restore community notifications. Please act swiftly to protect our urban forest. Sincerely,
Here are their emails:
eng@southpasadenaca.gov, msiegel@southpasadenaca.gov, lvillabourke@southpasadenaca.gov, claw@southpasadenaca.gov, arajewski@southpasadenaca.gov, mnoe@southpasadenaca.gov, myi@southpasadenaca.gov, nrecpubliccomment@southpasadenaca.gov
And if you have writer's block, use this form email:
Urgent: Request for Public Works to Develop Urban Forestry Plan
Dear NREC Commissioners, I respectfully urge you to request that Public Works develop a comprehensive urban forestry plan before the tree ordinance amendment takes effect and prior to the large-scale developments planned for our city. This plan is vital for protecting our natural resources, enhancing community well-being, and ensuring sustainable growth. A robust urban forestry plan will provide a strategic framework to preserve and expand our tree canopy, mitigating the environmental impacts of upcoming developments. Please act promptly to encourage Public Works to prioritize this critical initiative. Sincerely,
Show up in person at Council Chambers, located at 1424 Mission Street
Arrive at 6:50pm to fill out a public comment card (small white basket located by the left speaker podium)
Or Join the Council meeting on Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82599992830
Webinar ID: 825 9999 2830. No passcode required.
Please don’t be afraid to make a comment. It doesn’t matter your age or if you're even prepared.
If you don’t like this... just say it. Just one sentence is all we need.
Have a comment to make this stronger? Want to help? Contact us: savesouthpasadenatrees@gmail.com