They came by bike, they came by foot, and they came by car. But they all came for the same reason: to rally against the Coronado City Council decision to remove five mature trees from the corner of Spreckels Park by the Coronado Public Library as part of the $9.72 million expansion of the Winn Room.
The protest took place on Sunday, September 1 at 10 am, about a week after the 3-2 city council vote to approve Option 4, the biggest expansion plan for the Winn Room. Protesters brought homemade signs and posters saying “Save the Park!” and “What Would the Lorax Do?” and decorated the large trees slated for removal. They include a 51-year-old Cajeput/Melaleuca tree, a 51-year-old Evergreen Coral, a Canary Pine between 80-100 years old, and two New Zealand Christmas Trees (one approximately 80-100 years and other around 51 years old.)
“Why, just why?” asked resident Heather Barnett at the protest. “There are other places to put people. You can’t keep chopping down the little parks we have left. That’s the beauty of this place.”
According to the Coronado Trees group spokesperson, Christine Mott, the city council’s decision to drastically expand the Winn Room will destroy a significant portion of the mature tree canopy. It also deviates from the original intent of the purpose of the Winn Room and Spreckels Park itself.
“These mature trees and park space are priceless treasures that should be honored as part of Coronado’s history,” she wrote in an email. “They provide beauty, shade and a range of environmental benefits including a cooling effect on the surrounding sidewalk, asphalt and indoor temperatures, reduction of electrical bills, carbon capture, reduced noise, and reduced air pollution, storm water absorption, soil stabilization.”
Local artist Christie Curran, who attended the protest, agrees, saying that it’s important to maintain the trees for their shade and their beauty. She doesn’t think they should be sacrificed for another indoor air-conditioned space.
The trees also provide critical habitat to nesting birds and other wildlife, according to Emily Jones, a Coronado resident and wildlife biologist. This includes large birds like the Great Blue Heron, osprey, the Red-Tailed Hawk and the Great Horned Owl. These birds need large, mature trees because their nests are so big, sometimes up to four feet, according to Jones.
“Re-planting saplings is a nice idea, but they won’t support this specific type of wildlife,” she said.
For some protestors, there’s a little deja vu. About a year ago, community members rallied to save five other trees on the opposite edge of the property after the lawn bowlers found that the roots could be damaging their bowling green. In February of 2024, the city council withdrew its plans to remove the trees after public dissent and a lawsuit, of which Mott was a plaintiff.
But today, supporters of the Winn Room expansion say upgrades are necessary to bring the library into the 21st century and turn it into a cultural hub for the community. Shaun Briley, the library’s director, said in a December meeting that libraries are less about lending books and have become “vital social hubs and learning centers.” The Winn Room hosts hundreds of community events each year that are free to the public, including literary readings, musical performances, and more.
The plan would increase the seating capacity from 135 to 208, and will include a foyer and optional deck space that would allow for outdoor performances. According to plan supporters, 200 seats is the minimum threshold required for the programs the library wants to do, including attracting A-list book authors, performers and well-known speakers. The three other plan options offered less than 200 seats.
At the August 24 city council meeting, Carl Luna, President of the Coronado Friends of the Library, urged the council to “think big” and build a cultural facility that would put Coronado on the map.
“Right now, we’re okay culturally,” said Luna. “But if you build it, they will come.”
But not everyone agrees that going big is best for the city. City council member Casey Tanaka, who voted against the expansion along with Mike Donovan, questioned the trade off at the protest on Sunday.
“A lot of times difficult decisions come down to balance,” Tanaka said at the protest. “So I think we all agree the Winn room needed to be updated and expanded, but I said I didn’t think this was the right site for a 200-seat theater, just based on my own parking concerns. And the bigger you make the Winn Room, the more it comes at the expense of this park and, of course it’s more dramatic with loss of these trees.”
Tanaka said the council rejected a similar Winn Room expansion proposal in 2021 because there was no way to work around the trees.
“But that was the sacrifice the majority was willing to make, this time around,” said Tanaka.
While the supporters of the plan say that new trees can and should be planted, Mott says that many residents won’t get to enjoy the new trees in their lifetime.
“Science shows that a sapling cannot simply replace a new tree..it will take years and years for new trees to replicate the biomass,” said Mott. “You can go ahead and plant as many new trees as you want. We’ll all be dead before they ever reach the size of these trees.”
