The fate of a tree on 101st Street ended up dominating discussion Monday night at city council.
At issue was a request from the Holm Meiklejohn Lawrence law firm, who are developers of a new building that will house their law office on 1421-101st Street.
Both Patricia Meiklejohn and Jaylyn Lawrence were before council Monday, seeking a permit to replace the sidewalk and construct a driveway from their parking lot out to 101st Street.
But standing in the way of their plans is a large Amur Maple tree next to the sidewalk. A request had been made to the city that the tree be removed to accommodate the driveway into the parking lot.听
The entire issue is reminiscent of a recent council meeting in which a number of local residents showed up at council to voice concern about tree removal on 97th Street to accommodate UPAR work.
That heightened the sensitivity among city officials about the need to find ways to preserve as many city trees as possible.
But the proponents expressed concern that allowing the tree to stay will complicate plans to put in a laneway to their parking lot from the street.
In particular, the law firm wants to accommodate a handicapped-parking stall inside that parking lot, closest to the front of the building. The idea is so the building is accessible to clients, many of whom are seniors. Their original proposal was to put that handicapped stall inside the parking lot. There are other issues as well.
As for the tree on 101st Street, it is 25 years old and is healthy and in good condition. According to Tim Yeaman of the city, it should continue to live for another 20 to 25 years.
In this particular case, city manager Jim Puffalt indicated he believes a compromise could be achieved by trimming and pruning the tree, by losing the one off-street parking spot which was going to be designated handicapped, and to provide the block with an on-street handicapped parking stall in the vicinity.
Also, instead of the curb crossing going on the south side of the parking lot, where the tree is located, it would be located on the north side to protect the tree. It was described as a 鈥渓ower cost way of achieving what needs to be done,鈥� said Puffalt.
The indication from council is they wanted to see the tree saved, if at all possible.
Puffalt indicated further discussions will be happening with the law firm in the coming days to try to find a solution. He planned to report back at the next council meeting. 听听听听听
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Trees have become a hot issue at city council in recent weeks. At Monday鈥檚 meeting, lawyers Patricia Meiklejohn and Jaylyn Lawrence of the Holm Meiklejohn Lawrence law firm were seeking a permit to replace the sidewalk and construct a driveway to their parking lot at their new office on 101st Street. But complicating their plans is an Amur Maple tree standing on the street, and that was the focus of discussion at council Monday. Photos by John Cairns听听听
