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Residents, Gary Oak Coalition press Lakewood for Garry oak protection and depaving
Summary
Speakers asked the city to enforce critical-area protections for Garry oaks and to encourage depaving and pervious-driveway incentives; one written comment cited WDFW mitigation recommendations and said the city had not acknowledged a recent oak-cutting report.
At the Aug. 18 meeting multiple residents, speaking during public comment and on behalf of the Gary Oak Coalition, urged the city to act to protect Garry oaks and to discourage pavement that damages root zones.
Charice Martin, who identified herself as a Lakewood resident and as representing the Gary Oak Coalition for portions of her remarks, told council she had written the city Aug. 4 and Aug. 12 about a possible critical-areas-ordinance violation on Bridgeport next to Saint John’s Lutheran Church and about paving that may have damaged oaks. Martin said city staff (Miss Bell and Mr. Remak) had not provided the requested arborist report or mitigation information and that she had not received an acknowledgment of the Aug. 12 follow-up message. “We wrote to the city about what appeared to be a possible violation of the city's critical areas ordinance involving Garry Oak Woodland,” she said.
Martin cited the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) recommended mitigation numbers discussed in her written submission: she said WDFW’s guidance for a 26-inch‑DBH oak would recommend planting 200 new oak trees in a protected location and that felling five large oaks could trigger mitigation equivalent to 800 replacement oaks. Martin said those replacement numbers show the ecological value of large Garry oaks and urged a city effort to uncover paved‑over root zones (a depaving program) and to be more aggressive in outreach and enforcement.
Earlier in the public-comment period Christina Manetti and other residents raised related concerns about impervious paving and stormwater, urging incentives for pervious driveways and better public education about protecting trees’ critical root zones. The speakers asked the city to provide permitting information and to ensure the public permit portal shows relevant permit records.
Council members heard the complaints but did not take formal action on tree‑protection enforcement at the Aug. 18 meeting. Staff acknowledged receipt of some communications and told the council they would follow up; residents asked the city to provide specific permit and arborist‑report documentation to resolve the issues.
The transcript shows requests for greater enforcement and for a city depaving program and lists specific properties mentioned by residents (Bridgeport near Saint John’s Lutheran Church; Alpharetta; near Grama Lake). No citations to a specific code section were read into the record beyond general references to the city’s critical-areas ordinance and to WDFW guidance.
