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Commission denies request to remove large white oak for Warner Milne sidewalk; staff asked to pursue alternatives
Summary
After testimony from residents and the Oregon City Church of Christ, the commission voted to deny staff’s request to remove a 37-inch white oak for a curb-tight sidewalk and asked staff to pursue alternatives and code clarifications.
The City Commission considered a staff request and public testimony about whether to remove a large street tree — a 37-inch-diameter white oak adjacent to Oregon City Church of Christ — to allow construction of a curb-tight sidewalk on Warner Milne Road. Public Works Director Dana Webb presented an arborist assessment that described the tree as a 37-inch white oak in good health with a roughly 45-foot canopy and a 27-inch distance from trunk to curb.
Webb said staff had discussed two primary options with the property owner: (1) remove the street tree and construct a curb-tight sidewalk with off-site mitigation, or (2) meander a sidewalk onto the property to preserve the tree. Webb said the meandering option likely would require grading near the church structure, could still place sidewalk within the tree’s drip line and would require underground root investigations to determine whether roots would be impacted.
Steve Partlow, representing Oregon City Church of Christ, told commissioners the church does not need a sidewalk and has safety concerns about falling branches. Multiple residents, including Betsy Jordan Edholm, Wendy Marshall, Didi Dalsford and Jackie Hammond Williams, urged the commission to preserve the tree and highlighted the tree’s ecological and historical value; several speakers noted other cities’ examples of curved sidewalks that preserve mature trees.
After public comment and commission deliberation the commission voted to deny the street-tree removal request. Commissioners emphasized tree preservation, cited concerns about fee-in-lieu mitigation that places replacement trees in parks rather than in the immediate streetscape, and asked staff to return with options: preserve the tree and explore alternative sidewalk connections (including improved crossings and property easements), revisit mitigation rules so replacement planting better matches removed tree species and size, and consider code changes that would create higher standards for historic/native trees such as Oregon white oak.
Why it matters: the decision preserves a large, mature street tree and sets direction for staff to pursue less-invasive sidewalk alternatives and review mitigation policies. Commissioners said the outcome reflects city priorities on canopy preservation, ADA needs and the tradeoffs involved in public-right-of-way improvements.
