A row of billowy sycamores providing shade and scenic views to Chapala Street condo dwellers was sacrificed this week to widen a potentially dangerous creek running through downtown Santa Barbara.
The 30-foot sycamore trees lining most of Mission Creek off Gutierrez Street were removed under the direction of the Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District.
“Those trees provided screening, not only for us, but also for the units on De La Vina on the other side of the creek,” said Paul Portney, president of the Sevilla Homeowners Association and a resident of 401 Chapala St. condo building.
The urban-forest view enjoyed by residents of the luxury condos was gone overnight, leaving a barren view of the creek, its long-hidden concrete bank, and a cemetery of tree stumps
The trees were removed in preparation for a one-year project that will widen Mission Creek from the Gutierrez Bridge to Haley Street. The estimated $13 million project is designed to stop historic flooding in the area and will include construction of sloped creek banks and decorative retaining walls.
The project also calls for replanting the area with native plants, including sycamores, alders and fast-growing willows.
Portney added that his association has been working with the county for almost two years to minimize disruption and to prepare homeowners for the loss of their quiet and privacy. Still, the demise of the sycamores was keenly felt by his members.
County flood control officials said that extensive study went into the decision to remove the trees—and to save those that didn’t interfere with construction.
“Nobody likes cutting down trees,” said Andrew Raaf, environmental manager for the Flood Control District and a project planner. “There was no way to save those trees. We’ll need to excavate the soil under them, with massive heavy equipment working in the area.”
Raaf said they delayed tree removal as long as possible, but the nesting season for migratory birds opens in mid-February. Once the birds are building their nests, the trees cannot be destroyed, he added.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began studying ways to improve Mission Creek in the 1960s. City and county officials were involved from the start, taking over entirely in the early 2000s. Catastrophic neighborhood flooding in 1995, 1998, 2005 and again in 2010-11 added urgency to the work.
Mission Creek extends 7.5 miles from the mountains, winding through downtown to East Beach and flowing into the ocean just east of Stearns Wharf.
For the Lower Mission Creek project, work was done in phases, called “Reaches,” starting at East Beach in 2009. The second phase, up to the Gutierrez Street Bridge, was completed in 2022. The work will culminate at Canon Perdido Street, once local property tax dollars that fund the project become available.
By agreement, the city is in charge of rebuilding the bridges that cross the creek. County Flood Control, a separate division of county government, is in charge of the actual creek and its banks.
This latest phase is called “Reach 4” and comprises creek work from Gutierrez to Haley streets. Excavation and construction are set to start mid-March and conclude before the winter rains, said Matt Griffin, engineering manager for county flood control.
Griffin said he’s convinced the four blocks of already completed work saved the neighborhoods near Cota and Haley in the heavy rains of 2023-24 and prevented serious flooding on West Beach and other areas.
“I think we would have seen damage at the Amtrak station,” Griffin said. “We consider this backbone, critical infrastructure and believe we’re already seeing the benefit.”
The engineering and aesthetics of the Reach 4 work will mirror the already completed work.
The actual creek bed will be widened by up to 20 feet in some areas, allowing for 3,400 cubic feet per second—the quantity of water generated in a 20- to 25-year flood. Rocks will be placed on the embankments to stabilize the creekside plantings.
The creek banks will be more sloped then the current hard slant and covered with a rock-and-soil mix, with native trees and plants on the top.
Finally, concrete pile walls, averaging 5 feet in height but extending to 11 feet in some spots, will be erected on the upper banks. They will be covered in limestone facing and topped with 42 inches of decorative ironwork.
The buffer zones on both sides of the creek will be planted with native trees for shade, visual screening, and a habitat for migratory birds.
Both county planners and Portney of the homeowners association agree the finished project should be visually appealing—and far safer for the neighborhood.
Portney said that his board has tried to brace their members, especially those on the lower floors who will be most affected, for a year of disruption. The condo property border, he noted, is a mere 20 to 30 feet from the construction site.
Still, he added: “I’ve watched a Volkswagen and a MarBorg dumpster float down De La Vina. I looked out my back or side window at a house that was completely flooded out when Haley Street began to flood.”
“I’d prefer that this could be done overnight with a magic wand, but we understand it’s a big project, and there’s going to be disruption. But sometimes we all have to bear inconveniences for the greater good.”
