Save Garry the Exceptional Oak!

Enrico delivered our comment letter on the proposed Notice of Land Use for the property across the street, and while he was down at City Hall, he picked up a copy of the rules on tree preservation.

Seattle does indeed aspire to preserve its trees. I would have been quite disappointed to learn otherwise, seeing as how our mayor single-handedly launched the movement of over 300 US cities who have pledged to meet the Kyoto Protocol's pollution reduction targets, even as the US government refused to do so. Trees mitigate carbon emissions, thus, trees = good.

Property owners are strongly urged, though not required, to preserve trees over 2 feet in diameter; but trees of particular historic, asthetic or ecological value may be designated as "Exceptional Trees" which cannot be taken down except in very specific circumstances. Certain species of native trees are to be considered Exceptional Trees in every circumstance. So, we asked ourselves, what kind of tree is the one across the street?

Well apparently we are not the only ones in the neighborhood who are paying attention to this matter! While walking the dogs last night Enrico heard from a neighbor that the tree in question is a Garry Oak, also known as an Oregon White Oak, the only oak tree native to Washington state. According to the City of Seattle, the Garry Oak is always an Exceptional Tree.

This is good news, though not a slam dunk for Garry. The city's rules do say that if, when push comes to shove, you cannot build on the property without removing the Exceptional Tree, you may remove it. So we need to make sure that the subdivision doesn't create a property lot on which poor Garry is an impediment to building. But I'm heartened to know some of the neighbors are on this too. Save Garry!

I've never tried being a pain-in-the-ass neighborhood activist before. This could be fun.