by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

The Claremont City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to stay the removal of 207 city-owned pine trees in Claraboya.

After a nearly two-hour discussion on the fate of the city’s pine trees in the Claraboya neighborhood, the council opted not remove the trees and instead do selective trimming and more robust inspection and revisit the issue in its 2026-28 budget.

The pines have been under the microscope recently following windstorms in 2022 and 2025, and fears about the possibility of them causing dangerous impediments to residents and first responders in the event of a wildfire.

The council heard from the city’s arborists and fire safety officials prior to voting, weighing five options and landing on the first.

Other options included a three-year removal and replacement program that would have cost about $420,000; the immediate removal of all city-owned pine trees at $390,000; increasing the trees’ trimming cycle to three years at 30,000 per trimming cycle; and increasing the trimming cycle to three years, also at $30,000 per trimming cycle, which would have been covered by Claraboya residents through a special assessment.

Other business

The council also voted to tighten up its Claremont Dial-a-Ride budget, and directed staff regarding the regulation of rotating automobile display platforms by companies such as Carvana.

Dial-a-ride

The Claremont Dial-A-Ride program has seen a boost in ridership during fiscal years 2024-25 and 2025-26.

“Due to the successful integration of Uber into the service delivery model, the Dial-a-Ride Program gained ridership in 2024-25, ultimately resulting in $546,827 in total expenditures,” read a staff report. “The City Council authorized additional Transportation Fund expenditures in 2024-25 to cover the higher-than-anticipated costs. [Pomona Valley Transportation Authority’s] 2025-26 budget anticipated spending $641,943 on the Claremont Dial-a-Ride Program; however, program ridership has continued to experience a significant increase. General public ridership, particularly trips originating at the Claremont Colleges, has grown rapidly since July 2025.

“Due to the increased ridership, PVTA staff now anticipates that, without changes, the program could be on track to expend $1,033,000 in 2025-26. While the City of Claremont has reserved Transportation Funds and can cover this cost in 2025-26, this funding level is not sustainable long-term. Therefore, a cost-containment strategy is required.”

The council unanimously approved reserve transportation funding of $719,000 to cover part of the $1,033,000 operation price tag for 2025-26, and to implement immediate cost cutting strategies, including restricting its service area to Claremont only and establishing a monthly cap of 16 one-way trips for non senior or disabled riders.

The council also directed staff to begin the public input and meeting processes in front of a proposed general public fare increase from $2.50-$4.50 per trip to $7-$9.

The moves are meant to bring dial-a-ride expenses back in line with past years, which typically hovered around $650,000, partially funded by federal, state and local transportation fund grants and allocations.

Automotive displays

Following a public hearing to amend Claremont Municipal Code to allow rotating auto display platforms, also known as car carousels, in the commercial freeway zone via a special use and development permit, the council voted unanimously to send the item back to the planning commission for additional work.

At issue was the maximum amount of car carousels that could be allowed at any given time in the south Claremont commercial freeway zone, which runs primarily along Auto Center Drive and properties east of South Indian Hill Boulevard, many which abut the 10 Freeway. The planning commission is tasked with determining if car carousels should be capped between three to six. The planning commission will work on the code amendment language at its next meeting, 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 17 in council chambers, 225 W. Second St.

The next Claremont City Council meeting is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 24 in council chambers, 225 W. Second St.