Mira Mesa residents protesting removal of over 60 mature trees from park

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — A contingent of Mira Mesa residents protested Monday morning against a project that would remove dozens of mature trees from one of the area’s community parks.

The demonstrators say the bulldozing of the 50 to 75-year-old trees will be a hit towards San Diego officials’ efforts to build out the urban tree canopy as part of its climate action goals.

According to environmental groups , urban tree cover has a host of benefits, ranging from pollution and stormwater capture to cooling that alleviates the urban heat island effect — a phenomenon where an urbanized area experiences higher temperatures than outlaying areas.

The trees are set to be cut down to make room for improvements at the park , including added parking spaces, a proposed pool and skate park, and other improvements.

While this project has been in the works for some time now, residents demonstrating Monday said they were in the dark about the fact that 68 mature trees in the area would be torn down and replaced with young saplings.

“I’ve talked to hundreds of residents, those who use the park every day — not a single one of them knew that these trees were coming down,” Martha Martin, the Mira Mesa resident who organized the protest, told KUSI.

The demonstrators say the new saplings, while important, won’t be able to provide the same environmental benefits until the trees reach maturation several decades from now, creating short-term pains before the long-term advantages set in.

“There’s no reason we couldn’t design this in a way to keep the benefit of the trees and the benefits of the improvements they want to add,” she continued. “There’s so much space here.”

In a statement, city spokesperson Tyler Becker said the project to provide “much-needed improvements” to the Mira Mesa Community Park plans to feature “enhanced landscaping” to offset the impact of the tree removals, including the planting of the 75 saplings.

Becker noted that 81 mature trees will remain untouched and the project will be completed in the summer of 2026.

Watch Ed Lenderman’s report for KUSI in the player above.

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