West Seattle Blog…

Barton Street P-Patch decision: The big birch tree stays

March 18, 2011 at 9:46 pm | In Gardening, West Seattle news, Westwood | 14 Comments

(WSB photo taken last month)
It was a major point of discussion during the first two design meetings for the new P-Patch at 34th SW and SW Barton in Westwood (here’s WSB coverage from Feb. 13 and March 2), and it even came up during Mayor McGinn‘s walking-tour visit two weeks ago: Should the big birch tree that’s on the lot now stay, or should it go? Kate Farley sends word tonight that the decision has been made:

A special session was called for the steering committee of the Barton P-Patch to gather more information on how the gardeners can live compatibly with the birch tree, which will remain on site. Several local arborists donated their time and expertise to form a panel discussion. Included were Mark Harman of Stonehedge Tree Experts, Sean Dugan of Tree Solutions, Joe Markovich from SDOT, and Kyle Henegar, who is with the Washington Park Arboretum. Cass Turnbull from Plant Amnesty and John Hushagen of Seattle Tree Preservation were not able to attend.

The discussion was centered on how to protect the tree, and at the end of the meeting there was agreement that the controversial root barrier should not be installed. As Kyle Henegar said at the end of the meeting, “It just doesn’t get any better than this…these are some of the top tree people in Seattle.” Several ideas for protecting the tree were suggested and will be explored as we go along in the design process, so stay tuned.

The 34th/Barton site, previously Seattle Public Utilities land that wasn’t needed by that department any more, is being turned into a P-Patch courtesy of money from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy that voters approved in 2008. The third and final open community meeting before the garden is built, with a final proposed design to be presented, is scheduled for 1:30 pm Saturday, April 2nd – two weeks from tomorrow – at Southwest Community Center.

14 Comments

1. YAY! YAY! YAY!!!!!!!

   Comment by dameDonna — 10:08 pm March 18, 2011 #

2. Yay – the beautiful tree is staying! It will add a great dimension to the newest P-Patch.

   Comment by Kate K — 11:34 pm March 18, 2011 #

3. GOOD, I wasnt following the P Patch discussions but I’m shocked that there was even consideration for removing the tree in the first place. Vast numbers of trees are coming down in this neighborhood already because of ignorant and vain property owners. Over 50 on my block alone in the last 5 yrs. At this rate we should all be living in the middle of the parking lot at the mall.

   Comment by sophista-tiki — 4:45 am March 19, 2011 #

4. Looks like Limo will be very happy to hear he isn’t losing his friend Tree!

   Comment by AJP — 7:18 am March 19, 2011 #

5. Yabut, can we GET RID OF THE LIMO!?!?!
   (without a flippin hearing)

   Comment by Yabut — 11:36 am March 19, 2011 #

6. I’m SO glad the Anti-Tree & Pro-View people didn’t win this war. That tree is absolutely beautiful and there is NO reason it can’t co-exist with the new Barton P-Patch.
   .
   We live in a forest by the water. Be happy. Celebrate it. Stop trying to turn it into a mass of character-less concrete.

   Comment by Cheryl — 1:43 pm March 19, 2011 #

7. I for one am happy the limos aren’t losing their friend.

   Comment by desertdweller — 3:57 pm March 19, 2011 #

8. Wow, I always thought we lived in a city by the sea. Where does Cheryl live?

   Comment by Nulu — 6:59 pm March 19, 2011 #

9. Hey yabut where do you park your car? Maybe you should move your ugly car off the street. Thoose limos are someones way to make a living. Don’t try to make it harder then it already is. This is america. The limo guy I’m sure pays alot more in road user fees then most of us. So you and everyone else should just leave the guy alone. And yes it is great to see that the tree will stay.

   Comment by foy boy — 8:14 am March 20, 2011 #

10. bad decision. this is a p-patch…not a tree-patch.

    Comment by Bill — 9:56 am March 20, 2011 #

11. Yes, I believe the tree should go too; after all, the P-patch is ONLY about maximizing gardening output, is it not? Enjoyment of nature and things that grow isn’t even on the table….
    /Snark

    Comment by Tracy White — 5:59 pm March 20, 2011 #

12. YAYYYY!!! So happy to hear this!

    Comment by Crowe — 6:47 pm March 20, 2011 #

13. I just wanted to add that this is off of the Department of Neighborhoods website. I believe the people planning the p-patch must keep the vision below in mind when planning this space:

    P-Patches are an open space resource for all members of the community, not just gardeners, and are places to share love of gardening, cultivate friendships, strengthen neighborhoods, increase self-reliance, wildlife habitat, foster environmental awareness, relieve hunger, improve nutrition, and enjoy recreational and therapeutic opportunities.

    http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/ppatch/gardening.htm

    Comment by Tozeki — 10:26 pm March 29, 2011 #

14. It was a stacked deck without vegetable farmers on the panel.

    Comment by dsa — 3:10 pm April 1, 2011 #

Sorry, comment time is over.