The third closed session City Council meeting regarding selling previously unknown City surplus land to a private entity will be held Tuesday, February 21, at 4 pm.

This land contains several dozen mature gum, pine, pecan, and even native coast live oak trees in a part of Fullerton that, ironically, will soon be the recipient of a significant grant to plant trees in an area with low tree canopy and resulting high heat areas.

We need these existing trees to soften the urban edge in a low-tree area. The previous land sold to the same entity resulted in the removal of many mature trees. Those, and the few remaining, were all planted in the same era as the Hunt Branch Library and Hunt Center trees, all of which are on the National Register of Historic Places. The land is next to an additional designated city historic property, the 1939 Norton Simon streamlined modern building, and is expected to be used for parking.

There may be other alternatives for the City to retain it. Still, public land cannot be sold to private entities without going through the “Surplus Land Act” process, where it can first be considered for open space and then for affordable housing.

For more information, call or text, asking for Heritage Trees Committee at 714-729-3019