August 19, 2013 · Exit133

Hilltop Diversitree Project Brings Foliage to Hilltop

An anonymous donor has contributed $100,000 to a project that will plant over 200 trees in the Hilltop Business District. The project is in line with plans for the future of the Hilltop, as identified in the forestry element of Tacoma's Comprehensive Plan, the Neighborhood Business District Strategic Urban Forest Management Plan 2011, and the MLK Subarea Plan, as supported by the Urban Land Intstitute study earlier this year.

The funds, donated via the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, will be added to funding from the City of Tacoma's Environmental Services Department and CDBG grant dollars to increase the scope of planned plantings in the neighborhood.

The project will put new trees in the area between South 9th and Earnest S. Brazill, and between South J and Sheridan. The plantings will focus along the east/west "spine" of 11th Street, where the City is proposing to build four medians to allow for trees without reducing parking, allow for more rooting volume, and add traffic calming and UV protection to the street.

The anonymous donor has contributed an additional $30,000 for the first three years of maintenance, including watering, stake removal, and structural pruning. The City will cover additional costs during that time period. After the initial three years, trees not located in the median will be the responsibility of abutting property owners. The City will be responsible for trees in the median.

City staff have already met with the Hilltop Business District Association to share a project summary, and are in the process of conducting outreach to property owners, business owners, and key stakeholder groups. Groundbreaking and the planting of the first tree are planned for October 11.

Update & Clarification: The $100,000 is an anonymous donation. The $30,000 for maintenance comes from the Donald R. and Mary E. Williams Horticulture Fund.

Find out more about the Hilltop Diversitree program here.

Filed under: Green Tacoma, Hilltop, City Projects, Hilltop Development

22 comments

Christine August 19, 2013

Now let's make sure that appropriately growing trees are selected. Who out here is an arborist? What type of trees would you suggest?
- tacoma1 August 19, 2013
  
  Tacoma has a very knowledgeable and competent urban forester on staff. I'm sure that she will be able to come up with an appropriate choice. Varities that are drought tolerant once established, aren't shrubby, and have non invasive root systems would be qualities to look for. Also planting several different varieties would be important, just in case one variety becomes diseased, not all of the trees die en masse.
- fred davie August 19, 2013
  
  Arborists routinely select poor varieties for street trees. The Tacoma city arborist selected the "ornamental" variety used in the Proctor Business District in 1992. Now 21 years old the trees have destroyed lots of the sidewalks in the area and abutting property owners have been left holding the bag for tens of thousands of dollars in repairs. All the city will admit is oops, that turned out to be a problem variety. The property owners affected by Hilltop Diversatree Project should get an attorney and demand that the city guarantee maintenance on the trees and damage indemnification in perpetuity. Nobody wants to look a gifthorse in the mouth. But really, $100K worth of trees is NOTHING compared to damage these trees will likely cause in the future.
  - Jenny Jenkins August 19, 2013
    
    I suppose it's possible that we may have both a new arborist and the advantage of 2 decades of experience and learning at our disposal for this new round of tree plantings.
    - fred davie August 19, 2013
      
      Well, if the city is confident that it's own arborist will select CORRECT trees (which will not damage the sidewalks) then why not accept responsibility for any tree caused sidewalk problems? You can't have it both ways.
Jesse August 19, 2013

Can we take one of those trees across town and plop it in Fred Davie's front yard?
- tacoma1 August 19, 2013
  
  Ha, I would volunteer to help in that endeavor. BTW, I happened to be cycling thru hilltop this morning, and noticed that it was pretty brown looking...not the residents, but the lawns, the lack of trees and landscaping in general. It's fantastic that someone was generous enough to gift this much money to help beautify this neighborhood.
- fred davie August 19, 2013
  
  I already have a city tree placed in front of my property which has caused thousands of dollars in damage. How about we place one of these property damaging trees right in front of your houses, jesse and tacoma1? Is that OK with you? Apparently you don't care if the city damages private property...as long as the property doesn't belong to you.
  - tacoma1 August 19, 2013
    
    Perhaps you could post a picture of this offending timber that has been forced upon you and your property...not that I don't believe you...
    - tacoma1 August 19, 2013
      
      btw, as you can tell from my photo, you can always feel free to bring me a free tree. If it gets to big to swing from, I'll just eat off all its leaves.
Xeno August 19, 2013

Amazing how many complainers spill over from The New Takhoman and TNT on here. It is hard to decipher the trolls from the insane on this site.
Christine August 19, 2013

I didn't mean to start such a kerfluffle! I think that the arborist will at least know what trees to NOT use. I have some cedar starts (all volunteer) that are definitely not appropriate, but if someone wants a (someday) huge tree, one could be dug up, potted and put in the Central Tacoma Free-Radical Media Exchange area for pick-up.
Amy August 20, 2013

It looks like my property will be getting four new trees. I'm very excited about this. Also, there is way too much asphalt around Hilltop Safeway. This will make it look much better--maybe cool it off a little bit, too. My only concern is that the city takes care of the properties as they are ripping out old trees and bushes in the way of the new plantings. I just spent $3800 to replace our sidewalk at the city's request. Thank you, Anonymous Donor.
- fred davie August 20, 2013
  
  You just spent $3800 on a new sidewalk.... and now you want the city to plant some "free" trees next to it?
  - D. Hansen August 20, 2013
    
    Amazing right? Some people actually enjoy being surrounded by living things. I think it is pretty much true of our species that we prefer to be surrounded by life rather than asphalt. I see very few asphalt yards out there, but lots of gardens and grass and trees. All kidding aside, of course trees cause damage sometimes. You should try to mitigate the risk of damage by selecting the best trees we can, but the intangible benefit of being able to enjoy a walk down a tree lined street may just outweigh the risk of damage in most people's minds.
  - Amy August 20, 2013
    
    It's not about free trees. It's about adding life to a dead area. I'm excited about how the whole project will change our area here for the better, not just the trees planned for my yard.
fred davie August 20, 2013

" the intangible benefit of being able to enjoy a walk down a tree lined street may just outweigh the risk of damage in most people’s minds." D Hansen Well that begs the question: do people in the area under discussion prefer tree lined streets or do they prefer sunny streets? I don't see any survey in support of the proposed plantings. What about the property owners who DON'T prefer a tree lined street and DON'T prefer to be saddled with new obligations? I believe the intangible benefit of being able to enjoy a walk down a sunny street may just outweigh the risk of offending a bunch of Agenda 21 liberals.
Fred Davie August 20, 2013

During the depression a popular song encouraged folks to leave their blues in the shade and cross over to the sunny side of the street. Here's part of the lyric: Grab your coat and get your hat Leave your worries on the doorstep Life can be so sweet On the sunny side of the street
James August 21, 2013

Liberals = Shade Conservatives = Sun And now the world makes sense to me. Leave it to conservative whack jobs to turn an act of philanthropic public and economic benefit into a debate about sun v shade. I feel like Glenn Beck must be in the room.
fred davie August 21, 2013

According to the Surgeon General of the US, sunlight is associated with increased levels of Vitamin D which is an important vitamin for growth, especially for young people. Now the world makes sense to me, conservatives want a balanced approach to environmental concerns allowing shade lovers to plant trees and allowing sun lovers to leave their property open and sunny... and liberals hate children.
James August 21, 2013

May you die an early death of skin cancer and lack of oxygen on your pristine sun soaked sidewalk. ;)
fred davie August 21, 2013

James, you wish that people who hold viewpoints in opposition to yours would... die? Pretty harsh, apparently you don't care about children suffering development problems from lack of Vitamin D... just so you can walk about in your leafy fantasy world. I've acknowledged that trees are beneficial and even beautiful. Why won't you acknowledge that the rays of the sun are beneficial and even beautiful? All I've asked is that property owners in the area who DON'T want the trees, (even though they are "free") can OPT OUT of the plan. That doesn't seem very radical to me.