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Mission Hills Palms Designated Heritage Trees!
By Janet O'Dea
May/June 2025
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 Young palm trees stake their claim on the tree lawn in front of a Mission Hills home on Sunset Boulevard in the 1920s. Palms were planted for blocks along both sides of Sunset to add character and processional glamour. Many survive to this day. Courtesy Janet O'Dea |
 Formerly at risk, the century-old palm trees along Sunset Boulevard have soared to heavenly heights. They were recently designated City of San Diego Heritage Trees, thanks to the strong, relentless advocacy of Janet O’Dea, a preservation advocate and SOHO board member who lives in Mission Hills. The trees will now receive annual attention from an arborist, including special care, if needed. Photo by Allen Hazard |
Editor’s note: Janet O’Dea is a current SOHO board member. Read her full bio.
On April 9, 2025, I woke up around 4am, anxious to learn San Diego City Forester Brian Widener’s decision regarding the nomination of the old palm trees lining Sunset Boulevard in Mission Hills for heritage tree designation.
At the March Community Forestry Advisory Board (CFAB) meeting, Widener had explained that the board’s 6-3 vote in favor of designation was only an advisory recommendation made at that time. During the hearing, he clearly indicated his opposition to the designation, and, ultimately, the final decision was his. I confirmed with my councilmember and the mayor’s office that Widener alone held that authority, so I braced myself for disappointment.
With nerves high, I attended the April 9 CFAB meeting. Then I saw the trees on the agenda: Item 5: Acceptance of Conserve-A-Tree protection of Mission Hills fan palms. I stared at the wording, uncertain whether it meant the designation had already been granted.
I was stunned, then overwhelmed with gratitude, when Widener formally announced the designation.
Unlike in 2009, when a similar designation of Mission Hills trees vanished due to administrative mishandling, I will closely follow staff’s actions to ensure these trees are officially listed as protected in the city’s Development Services database—a crucial step that was missed 16 years ago.
In 2023, that mishandling cost Mission Hills the historic Kate Sessions pepper tree, a neighborhood treasure planted by the pioneering San Diego nurserywoman also known as the “Mother of Balboa Park.” Although included in this nomination and previously nominated in 2009, Widener stated, this California pepper “would not be included in the heritage designation,” adding that he “had no way to go backwards.”
Sadly, this landmark California pepper tree—likely older than the palm trees—was sacrificed. But its deeply felt loss brought attention to the city’s treatment of heritage trees and helped pave the way for the palms to ultimately be protected.
Significantly, Widener acknowledged that other community members had also discovered missing records for previously designated trees. (Widener is responsible for decisions that destroyed at least six California pepper trees planted in Kensington c. 1910. See Kensington Pepper Trees on SOHO’s Most Endangered List and an earlier eNews report Kensington’s Historic Trees Under Threat by SOHO member Maggie McCann.
Other tree nominations are still pending, but there's no clear timeline for when they’ll be addressed. I hope that through active engagement, we can bring more transparency and accountability to the heritage tree designation process.
With old-growth trees increasingly being replaced by Accessory Dwelling Units and large developments, protecting our urban forest and neighborhood heritage continues to require informed effort and dogged determination.
Happily, and in time for April’s Earth Day, we preservationists won this case. The palm trees that line Sunset Boulevard now have a better chance to thrive through their full life cycles. They will receive annual attention from an arborist, and CEQA guidelines will provide further protection—whether or not you and I are here to witness it.
Thank you, Kate Sessions, for planting these graceful and magnificent palms. And happy Earth Month, San Diego!
Read Janet’s previous report on the Mission Hills trees nominations online.
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