Residents, developer and city staff spar over plans that could remove mature Norwood Road trees

Dozens of residents urged the Tualatin City Council to preserve a mature stand of trees along Southwest Norwood Road during public comment, while the project's developer and city staff said they are negotiating a revised plan intended to protect the trees.

The disagreement centers on design details for a proposed development on Norwood Road and whether the city-required sidewalk, utility easement and roadway modifications as currently configured would damage or remove mature Douglas-fir and other trees along the road.

At issue is a relatively narrow strip of trees on the west end of Norwood that neighbors and an arborist described as a last remaining line of older Douglas-fir in that area. Em Roberts, an ISA-certified consulting arborist representing Todd Prager and Associates, told the council the industry standard for root-protection requires more space than the city’s current protocols allow. “No trees to be removed on grove edges is recommended, and a minimum of 13 feet of tree protection zone where no right-of-way improvements, utilities, grading, or excavation within that 13 foot protection area,” Roberts said, explaining that the northernmost tree on the site measures 26 inches in diameter and would therefore need an approximately 13-foot protection radius.

Residents described losses from a prior nearby project, the Autumn Sunrise development, and warned the council that repeating the same approach would leave the neighborhood without the canopy that provides wind protection, shade and wildlife habitat. “We don't need or want another Autumn Sunrise fiasco,” resident Danny O'Neil said, noting he has watched large trees disappear along Boones Ferry Road and other nearby streets over the past several years.

Developer Ken Allen, who said his firm is preparing a revised design, told the council he is willing to work with the city and to consider measures such as decorative railings and other design changes to address safety while preserving trees. “I'm willing as a developer to bring that kind of a solution ... in a partnership with the city to give us SDC credits because I feel that would answer the safety aspect, bring some beauty to it and still preserve the trees,” Allen said.

City staff said they are engaged with the developer and expect a new plan. Mike McCarthy, Tualatin's city engineer, and Aquila Herdravitch, community development director, told the council they believe there is flexibility in the land use decisions and conditions of approval that could allow tree preservation while meeting the city's transportation and public-works standards. “We are committed to preserving the trees,” Herdravitch said, adding staff will work with the developer and the project's arborist to identify how walkways and plantings can be fitted “without impacting the root zones of the trees.”

Speakers during public comment urged the council to require a plan that retains exterior trees that provide structural stability to the stand of trees, and to ensure that utilities and pedestrian improvements do not damage critical roots. Several residents cited past failures on Norwood after an earlier engineering approach was followed, saying exterior trees were removed and the remaining stand later failed in high winds.

Councilors did not take a legislative or land-use vote on the project during the meeting; instead staff and the developer said they would continue working on design revisions. City staff indicated they expect a revised plan from the developer to address the city's technical concerns and the community's requests. The council did not set a timeline at the meeting for formal review of the developer's revised plan or for any land-use hearings.

Why this matters: Mature street trees provide stormwater and air-quality benefits and shade that residents and multiple speakers said are essential to neighborhood character. Residents also framed the issue as one of public safety and long-term infrastructure planning, arguing that removing stabilizing exterior trees can increase storm damage risk and outages.

What to watch next: City staff said they are awaiting a revised plan from the developer that will be reviewed together with the project's arborist; any future land-use public hearings or council actions on formal conditions of approval would be the next opportunities for formal decisions.

Ending: Residents and the developer expressed a desire to find a compromise; city staff said they will work with the developer’s team to produce a plan that aims to preserve the trees while meeting applicable codes and transportation standards. No formal council action was taken at the July 28 meeting.