No clear-cut answer for fallen trees

The tree clear-cuttting issue continues to be the buzz in Edmonds with reactions generally falling into two camps.

Those in the first camp hold that the offending developer, Point Edwards LLC, should pay heavily into the community, be responsible for what comes of the area for a decade or more and serve as an example of how not to cross the city and its people.

The second camp’s adherents feel Triad’s actions were a blessing in disguise, that the former Unocal oil tank farm site looks better now than it ever did and that city officials should accept Triad’s proposed settlement – including a $100,000 donation to the city – and get over it.

As with most polarized viewpoints, the best solution is somewhere in the middle.

Triad needs to replant and replenish the logged-off area to what it was before and more. Triad is developing the property for mostly upper-end condominiums with purchasers in for the long haul in making their homes there. The corporation needs to be in for the long haul too, not just three years and then claiming it did its part when the next winter — like that in 1995-96 — blows in and sends every hillside in the area sliding.

Such a commitment will establish a trusting relationship with the community in which its $65 million condominium project will be built, not to mention being good for sales.

It is also true that the tank farm, even when it was operating, was somewhat of an sore thumb sticking up over the city’s picturesque Bowl area and waterfront. The condominium project will, on the whole, be a positive addition to Edmonds.

As for the trees, a preferable approach would’ve been a comprehensive cutting and revegetation plan before the project was approved. Now that the trees are down, the city should do two things: make sure adequate replanting takes place and make sure purchasers aren’t buying responsibilty along with a condo. Unrelated punitive payments won’t help the problem.

And then, it is time to move on.