Update (9 a.m.):
A couple of protesters who spent the night high above the ground in an effort to save trees in Coronado came down from their perches Tuesday morning.
The city had been removing trees along E Avenue due to safety concerns and that didn't sit well with some of the folks who live there.
One of the protesters, Dan'l Steward, said he was frustrated with a lack of information about what was happening and wanted more information from city officials.
"We don't receive a clear message on what's the plan," he said. "It's just remove the trees and that seems a little too quick. Why don't we publicly walk through this about the decision-making process and why that's your policy and your plan to move ahead?"
The city has decided to stop cutting the trees down until there can be further discussion at the next City Council meeting.
Original post:
Dan'l Steward says he is prepared to stay right where he is, sitting in a tree 12 feet above, to make sure leaders in Coronado get his message.
"We don't receive a clear message on what's the plan," Steward said. "It's just remove the trees and that seems a little too quick. Why don't we publicly walk through this about the decision-making process and why that's your policy and your plan to move ahead?"
Feet away, on Monday crews were cutting down branches of the other trees that have been ordered by the city to come down because of safety concerns, despite the disapproval of neighbors.
Signs are stapled on the trees that line E Avenue. Neighbors came out Monday morning to show Steward support and to get answers about what will happen moving forward.
"Just to cut them down, that's nonsense," said neighbor John Macarthur. "That's like cutting the redwood down."
"We just want to find out what can be done," said neighbor Scott Wertz. "Can we put a eucalyptus in to replace it? We just want an answer so we don't get little scrub trees in."
Steward said he is determined to stay up in the tree to keep the fight alive.
"There was no parking, so I'm not violating that," he said. "There's no non tree climbing ordinance that I'm aware of."
KPBS media partner 10News spoke with the City Manager and was told they could get a court order to get Steward out. But instead, they are trying to work with him. The city's tree committee is also meeting with the residents to discuss options for what will be planted to replace the trees.
Late Monday afternoon, Steward was joined in the trees by his neighbor Ryan Gillespie, who sat in a hammock while playing his ukulele.
Neither man in the trees believes they can save them.
"They'll probably do it anyway, but I just want to know what they're going to do with the rest of the trees," Gillespie said.
Steward said, "If I had not sat in this tree, this tree like the others … would be gone, gone by tonight and then we don't have leverage for our conversation."
The conversation started sooner than the neighbors thought. Just after 5 p.m., Coronado Mayor Casey Tanaka showed up and climbed up the tree and spoke with Steward. After spending about 10 minutes in the tree, they had a better understanding.
"He wanted more clarification on what the city's next steps were, so I was happy to go up there and chat with him about it," Tanaka said.
Tanaka explained the city had a legal responsibility to take the trees out before somebody gets hurt or killed. He told 10News the city welcomes community input when it comes to replacing the damaged trees.
"It's a very amicable situation, but they're not at the point of cutting this tree yet either, so we shall see," Steward said.
He and Gillespie planned to spend Monday night in the trees.
Tree removal crews are expected to be back out Tuesday, and so are supporters of the two men. A rally is planned on E Avenue Tuesday at 7:30 a.m.
