Why the city can’t stop the railroad from cutting down trees

Let’s return for a moment to those trees coming down along W. Marine View Drive, just north of 10th Street. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad is clearing the railroad’s right of way, including some fairly large trees. The tracks run along the bottom of a slope, and people living

in the area have expressed concern about whether the tree loss could potentially contribute to a slide. Valerie Steel brought those concerns to the City Council Wednesday.

Here’s the response she got:

The city has no ability to stop the railroad from clearing the right of way because of an interstate commerce clause that allows them to monitor and care for property around the tracks, explained Jim Iles, city attorney. Instead the city has tried to work with the railroad to preserve the integrity of the slopes, he said. The railroad is clearing the right-of-way presumably to prevent slides onto the tracks, so the two entities share mutual goals, he said. However, it’s hard for the city to reach someone at the railroad to talk.

“They aren’t always easy to get a hold of or deal with,” he said.