Six blue gum trees along the fifth hole at Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Links, which were the subject of a lawsuit filed by homeowners next to the course, will be removed in a settlement reached with the City of Pacific Grove.
The lawsuit claimed the trees, which are located on city property, are dangerous and improperly maintained.
“I believe what we did was reach an amicable settlement of the action,” City Attorney David Laredo said of the agreement filed in Monterey County Superior Court.
The city will remove the trees within 60 days and the costs will be split equally between the city and the plaintiffs, who are homeowners in the Monarch Pines subdivision who filed the suit in April.
According to the agreement, the city will be allowed to replace the trees “with new trees of a suitable species, likely Cypress trees, and regularly maintain and monitor the replacement trees.”
While the plaintiffs will be consulted regarding the species of the replacement trees, “the City shall have the sole discretion to elect the species.”
The city will install and pay for the cost of netting where the trees are located when they come down, and the plaintiffs will contribute $1,200 toward the cost of the replacement trees, with the city paying anything above that amount, the agreement states.
Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Links, known at “The Poor Man’s Pebble Beach,” is a popular layout on the Monterey Peninsula on which much of the back nine plays along the shoreline of Monterey Bay.
