SEATTLE — People in Seattle’s Wedgewood neighborhood are hoping to save a large Western Redcedar slated to be cut down to build more housing.
Signs of a construction zone are visible on Northeast 88th street, but an 80-foot Western Redcedar was still standing tall Thursday.
“Doesn't look like the excavation has gone to where the roots are," said arborist, Stewart Niven. "If I were able to buy this property tomorrow I would be happy to keep the tree there and nurture it for myself."
According to neighbors and environmental activists, Bellevue-based Legacy Capital is set to build multiple units on the lot.
Niven said the tree is essential to the neighborhood and community. It serves as a shelter for wildlife, plus its canopy helps keep the area cool as the region continues to see warmer summers.
“As each tree comes down it impacts everything around it,” Niven said.
Sandy Shettler, with The Last 6,000, an environmental group documenting the remaining trees across the city with trunks that have a diameter of 30 inches or more said the group has been working to save the tree.
“This tree could totally fit with the same number of houses and the same size of houses if the line had been drawn differently,” Shettler said.
This slated tree removal comes as the city’s new tree ordinance will soon go into effect requiring developers that tear down trees to either replace it or pay into the city’s tree fund.
“It essentially will turn trees into cash for the city,” Shettler said.
As interest grows, Shettler said hope for the towering tree isn’t coming down just yet.
“There’s been so much public attention on this amazing tree and the effect on the community that I'm hoping and praying that it does make a difference,” Shettler said.
The group will be holding gratitude gatherings for other old-growth conifers set to be cut down. You can find out more about future events here.
KING 5 reached out to Legacy Capital and have not heard back. The City of Seattle’s tree ordinance goes into effect July 30.