Memorial Park Trees Face Removal; Community Group Encourages Restraint

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated — Memorial Park Tree Remvoal Delayed Until April

Three trees at Memorial Park are scheduled to be removed by the end of March, according to the City of Newberg, citing increasing damage to underground stormwater pipes and citizen safety. However, a local advocacy group is urging the city to slow the process down and conduct more analysis before the removal, and encouraging the city to review its tree policy to help avoid the removal of established trees in the future.

“We worked both internally and with arborists to figure out what could be done to avoid cutting it down,” said Newberg Public Works Director Russ Thomas. “But unfortunately, the other options were either not possible or fiscally irresponsible. It’s a shame — it’s a beautiful tree. But it needs to come down to make necessary repairs to the storm line and avoid potential future damages.”

During the February 5, 2024 City Council meeting, Newberg residents Joni Zimmerman, Cathy Holbrook, and Marilyn Godfrey — all members of the Tree Committee for Sustainable Solutions Group of the Newberg-Dundee Area — shared public comment expressing concern about the planned removal of a Coastal Redwood located on the southern edge of the city property beside Memorial Park.

“I think Newberg has a problem,” Holbrook said at the February 5 meeting. “And I think the problem is we don’t take our beautiful landscape seriously.”

The group is hosting a community forum about the project on Friday, March 8 at North Valley Friends Church, where they’re encouraging residents to bring questions, comments, and suggestions for the tree project.

Newberg City Council staff addressed the concerns raised by the Sustainable Solutions group at the February 20, 2024, meeting, citing a report conducted by arborist Justin Marble of Marble Tree Service on November 11, 2023, as well as images and reports of the damaged pipe and manhole on S. Blaine Street from public works.

Marble’s review concluded that the tree is healthy and in good condition and would likely not fail, given no root damage is done through civic work. However, if the roadwork were to be conducted, it would result in significant root damage as root cuts are unavoidable and would increase the risk level to medium or high.

Potential for Downtown Damage

Thomas asserts that the damage to the 18-inch major storm pipe warrants immediate action to repair, as the roots have grown into the pipe and are blocking the pipe from flowing properly. The trunk of the Coastal Redwood is widening by around one inch per year, according to the report, which is pushing the sewer line manhole and surrounding sidewalk away from the access hole. Photos looking into the manhole show roots growing into the manhole space between small gaps in the concrete.

“The tree is receiving all the nutrients it needs to continue to grow from the pipe,” Thomas said. “At this point, it’s found a reliable source of food and water and will only grow stronger and faster.”

A storm line blockage and eventual failure could spell catastrophic damage to the neighboring buildings, including most of downtown, Thomas said. Any downtown or neighboring buildings with basements could experience significant flooding, resulting in millions of dollars in damage to local houses, businesses, and organizations.

“We saw what one flood did to one building,” Thomas said, citing the City Hall freeze-flood event in mid-January’s ice storm. “Now imagine that with all of the businesses and buildings around the area.”

Thomas said he and the public works department explored alternatives to save the tree and move or reroute the storm line to another location. Moving the storm line to the other side of Blaine Street would cost over $500,000, said City of Newberg Public Works Maintenance Superintendent Preston Langeliers in the February 20 City Council meeting. Moving the line to the other side of Memorial Park on S. Howard Street would likely be over $1 million.

To complete the work as currently planned is quoted around $100,000, Langeliers said.

Zimmerman said the Sustainable Solutions group understands and sympathizes with the City’s decision to remove the tree, especially due to the fiscal cost and potential for citizen safety and civic damage. However, they hope to slow the process down until the City Council can review its current tree policy to update it with more modern knowledge.

“We understand, and the science tells us, that this tree needs to be removed,” said Sustainable Solutions member Sue Delventhal.

“But the problem is we’re not working to prioritize saving trees in the first place,” added Holbrook. “It’s been one beautiful tree after another, and there’s always a good reason.”

A New Way Forward

“The tree is representative of the need for a new tree policy,” said Marilyn Godfrey. “If it were planted just a few feet away and not over [the storm pipe], we wouldn’t even have this conversation. There needs to be more attention to where trees are planted in Newberg, and what trees we’re planting.”

The Sustainable Solutions group would like to address the Preferred Street Tree List, for example, which lists just over 80 trees but fewer than 10 native species on the list.

Additionally, trees planted in sidewalk strips — green space between sidewalks and roads — also do not have height or size regulations, leading to trees that push up sidewalks and roadways when they reach maturity. The group asserts that any tree on the Preferred Tree list and tree policies should account for the size of the tree and root structure, reducing the possibility of future removal.

And of course, restricting the planting of trees over municipal sewer and storm lines around town.

“We don’t want to be adversarial,” said Zimmerman, adding that Thomas and City Manager Will Worthey have been excellent in addressing their concerns. “We want to develop a working relationship with the city where we can work to fix these things and provide a stronger tree policy for current and future residents.”

Thomas says the city intends to harvest the lumber from the wood and put it to beneficial use. The smaller branches would be chipped for CPRD parks or the school district walking paths. Usable wood from the oaks would likely be cut into rounds and given to a local nonprofit that provides firewood for families in need.

They hope to harvest the usable wood from the Redwood tree as well and say they’re collaborating with the Sustainable Solutions group to harvest and mill the wood, given it’s not cost-prohibitive. The Sustainable Solutions group said they’d like to see the wood used to build park benches or a new gazebo in Memorial Park.

Two Other Trees, Memorial Park Gazebo Slated for Removal

Two Oregon White Oak trees and the Memorial Park Gazebo have both been mentioned alongside this project. The Oak trees are related, and the Gazebo unrelated, said Newberg Public Works Director Russ Thomas.

Two Oregon White Oaks are scheduled for removal at the same time as the Coastal Redwood; one of which is 11 feet away from the redwood with interlocking root systems. The other, closer to S. Howard Street, was found to be a high risk during the inspection due to lightning damage and a 24-foot overhang.

During the February 20 City Council meeting, Newberg City Manager Will Worthey said the city is planning to plant five trees in Memorial Park to replace the three they are taking down.

The Memorial Park Gazebo is also slated for removal, along with the rhododendrons that circle the structure. Thomas said the Gazebo’s wood displays signs of dry rot and may need to be removed for citizen safety. The rhododendrons and veteran’s memorial will be relocated closer to the Veteran’s Memorial toward the center of the park.

However, Thomas said, this project is unrelated to the redwood tree removal. During public comment, members from the Sustainable Solutions Group said the removal of trees, gazebo, and surrounding memorial elements are related to the expansion of the NDPD Public Safety Building parking lot. Thomas says that the comment is unsubstantiated — the two projects are unrelated — and the city owns the land where the gazebo sits and has been leasing the land to CPRD for Memorial Park.

The City is exploring the option to expand the parking lot for NDPD in the future, as Newberg is experiencing a growth phase with new developments and wants to be ready for any advanced municipal needs, he said.

Learn more about the Blaine Street tree removal project at the City of Newberg website.

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