VIDEO: 104 More Trees Being Removed From Burke-Gilman in LFP

King County’s arborist with approval of the city of Lake Forest Park has recommended the removal of 100 additional trees that are in poor condition or hindering in Lake Forest Park.

King County’s contractor P’n’D Tree Service is in the midst of removing 322 significant trees along the Burke-Gilman Trail, 104 more than the 218 that city originally believed would be taken after a June walk-through prior to construction.

King County arborist Tina Cohen submitted her final report, her fourth of regarding additional removals to Lake Forest Park’s arborist Elizabeth Walker on Sept. 21. Walker agreed to those removals and added seven more of her own, which included seven more trees which were in poor condition.

Lake Forest Park Planning Director Steve Bennett voiced his frustrations in one of his e-mails last month to King County Parks Capital Projects Manager Gina Auld regarding one of four additional proposals by the arborists to remove trees,

He wondered why, when the city and concerned residents worked with the County to follow the process outlined by the hearing examiner, those trees weren’t discovered earlier.

“That process should have resulted in a realistic count of the number of removals, provided that significant trees were accurately depicted and the limits of work accurately staked.  Unfortunately, that was not the case,” Bennett wrote. “…The removal of these trees is not due to an unforeseen circumstance and should have been addressed prior to permit issuance, therefore, we are compelled to impose the remedial replacement standards in (Lake Forest Park Municipal Code 16.14.120.A  for these three trees.”

In an e-mailed response to Bennett, King County Parks Capital Projects Manager Gina Auld shared the difficulties of contractors working on the trail without removing more trees:

“At the request of Lake Forest Park and homeowners, the County / Consultant made every effort to reduce impacts to homeowners and trees along the trail during the design process. This resulted in a very narrow corridor in which to construct the trail. The trees are very dense along sections of the corridor and the margin of error could be very small and still miss several trees.

Additionally, during the Arborist walk thru in January and June of this year (of which I believe you attended), the Arborists were adamant about minimizing tree removal. This resulted in a number of trees that were located close to the limits of work, marked to be saved.

As construction of the trail continues and the new trail footprint is roughed in, many of the trees that were close to the limits of work must now be removed. In fact, all but a couple of the additional trees marked for removal are within the limits of work.

This process of saving, reviewing, and ultimately removal, has required the Contractor to go back over areas previously cleared which has resulted in additional project costs and schedule impacts. Please note; though the number of trees is more than originally anticipated, it is far less than what would have been removed if the County cleared their right of way for construction of the trial (sic).”

The additional 100-plus trees are all that are to be removed right now, however, according to Bennett, “if future removal requests exceed an additional 51 significant trees, the County will need to provide new tree survey data demonstrating that 35 percent of significant trees are being retained.”

Melanie Paquin, who lives next to the trail on Edgewater Lane, called the city on Monday concerned that some of the trees being removed by the county’s contractor were to be protected.

Paquin said she’s concerned about lost habitat for salamanders, among other things.

The plan is to replace to 322 trees that are being removed with an equal number either on the trail or elsewhere in Lake Forest Park. The replacement plan is still being worked on, Bennett said. 

The stretch of the Burke-Gilman running through Lake Forest Park has been closed since June 15 for a redevelopment project. The work is supposed to take about six months.