EDMONDS, Wash. — A developer wants to remove five mature trees as part of a plan to build a 17-unit apartment complex in downtown Edmonds, but one neighbor isn't letting go without a fight.
Like the fictional Dr. Seuss character, "The Lorax," Ann Christiansen speaks for the trees.
"Somebody's gotta do it. My husband keeps calling me the tree lady," she said with a chuckle.
She's specifically speaking for five 40-foot-tall sweetgum trees at the corner of Dayton Street and Durbin Drive in downtown Edmonds.
To Christiansen, they're part of her community, like neighbors.
"My husband and I watch them leaf out in the spring and they tell us how windy it is," Christiansen said. "The leaves are gorgeous in the fall. We know how much snow is falling by how much is on the branches."
When Ann found out about the plan to take the trees down along with the building, she went straight to the city.
"I sent some emails out and talked to the Tree Board in Edmonds and they told me the trees weren't worth saving," Christiansen said.
So, Christiansen hired her own arborist to examine the trees.
That arborist told KING 5 he believes all five can be "successfully retained" as long as "sufficient care is taken to protect their roots, trunks and canopies during the demolition."
"He thinks it's worth trying," Christiansen said.
In a statement to KING 5, the city says an urban forest planner agreed with the city's arborist that the trees were "not worthy of retention."
Christiansen thinks that's foolish.
"The city has a carbon neutrality goal by 2050," she said. "If we remove five huge trees, how does that fit in with the goal?"
The sidewalk where the trees are planted is falling apart because of their roots. Since the building and sidewalk would all be torn apart anyway, Christiansen believes the city could simply redesign the sidewalk to give the trees more room for their roots saving her "neighbors" from a chainsaw.
"I want to make them worth saving," Christiansen said. "I want to make the city think twice."
The city stressed no final decision about the trees has been made and it will take into account the findings by the new arborist when decision-time comes.