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Residents urge city to protect Brockman Boulevard trees as sidewalk gap project advances
Summary
Residents from Brockman Boulevard asked council to preserve a mature tree canopy while adding sidewalks, presenting petitions and citing the city's development guideline that protects critical root zones. They asked the city to pursue traffic calming and to coordinate sidewalk engineering with tree preservation measures.
Residents from Brockman Boulevard and supporters spoke during public comment on Jan. 21 to ask City Council and city staff to protect the street's mature tree canopy while proceeding with a sidewalk gap program.
Jeff Holtzman described that the neighborhood's appeal rests on a cascade of mature trees and said residents fear repeating a recent nearby example where 18 trees were removed during sidewalk work. He said residents formed a citizens initiative and submitted a petition signed by a large share of affected property owners; the petition later grew to include more than 200 names of concerned residents. "Trees and sidewalks can coexist," Holtzman said, and he asked staff to plan holistically so the work does not strip the neighborhood of its canopy.
Speakers cited the city's development guidelines on protecting landmark trees and described the critical root zone rule as a zone of exclusion equal to one foot per inch of trunk diameter; for many large trees that can translate to a radius of 20 to 25 feet. Sean Smith, a parent and physician, told council that building sidewalks inset from trees would either damage roots or produce substandard, non‑ADA sidewalks. Smith urged the city to consider moving sidewalks to the street side of the trees and to pair sidewalk construction with traffic‑calming measures to preserve both safety and trees.
Council members acknowledged the comments and several said they would continue to engage with residents. Public commenters asked specifically that engineering, arborists, traffic calming and sidewalk programs coordinate so that tree canopy preservation, accessibility goals and traffic safety are addressed together.
Ending: Residents asked the council to slow and coordinate design work for sidewalk gaps on Brockman Boulevard so arborists, traffic calming plans and sidewalk engineers can deliver a solution that preserves the tree canopy while improving pedestrian access.
