“If you plan to remove every tree in Warren that buckles the sidewalk, you will remove most of the tree canopy in our beautiful town.””

Anne Raver

Monica Jainschigg and her husband Nicholas love the view from their front porch on King Street. Looking west, their 1910 home is surrounded by homes of similar vintage, many of which are fronted by mature maples planted decades ago. But the Jainschiggs and other residents of the short way off Franklin Street are worried about the fate of those trees, five of which have been slated for removal by the Town of Warren.

Two months after two large trees on King Street’s west side were taken out, town officials recently tagged five trees along the east side for removal, as they are growing through the sidewalk and don’t allow for safe passage along the public walk. With the sidewalks due to be replaced some time later this summer, town officials said the trees must go so Warren can comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) as new walks and curbs are installed.

But neighbors want the town to find a way to save the trees, and have asked for a public hearing. Warren DPW Director John Massed said one will be held on King Street at 6 p.m. this Thursday, July 14.

“Where trees have already been cut down, the neighborhood looks bare and ugly,” Mrs. Jainschigg wrote in a letter to Mr. Massed, who is also Warren’s tree warden. “Even if trees are replaced, it would take decades to restore the neighborhood character and the shade these trees provide.”

Warren Town Manager Jan Reitsma said Thursday that he understands the strong attachment many residents have to the trees outside their homes. It’s a difficult situation, he said, as officials doing infrastructural work must juggle residents’ concerns while complying with the ADA and other legal requirements that bind municipalities.

“Once you (repave) a street and you do major work you really want to do the sidewalks,” he said. “The law requires that we then make sidewalks ADA-compliant. A lot of our sidewalks are not."

"Then, you get this very difficult situation balancing the fact that people love trees and the kind of character they create, while at the same time you need to deal with the fact that they’re supposed to be safe for pedestrians, they’re supposed to be accessible for disabled persons. How do you balance that?”

The town’s method of finding that balance on King Street was by marking the trees with orange broadsides stating that they would be removed on Monday, July 11. The signs, called for in Warren’s Tree Ordinance, noted varying reasons, including “hazard” and “ADA compliance,” and stated that objections could be sent to the DPW by July 6 — five days before the scheduled removal date.

Several neighbors said they weren’t being given enough notice of the trees’ imminent destruction, or had been told months ago that the trees on King Street’s east side would not be taken down when sidewalk work was done.

King Street residents Anne Raver and Rock Singeald wrote in a letter to Mr. Massed that the trees need not come down if the sidewalk could be widened and shifted west:

“King Street is certainly wide enough for wider sidewalks with bigger tree pits. Or it could simply have no sidewalks, with a curb. Or no curb at all, with a softer, more rural feel,” they wrote.

“If you plan to remove every tree in Warren that buckles the sidewalk, you will remove most of the tree canopy in our beautiful town.”

Mr. Reitsma admitted Thursday that government can sometimes be cumbersome, and finding solutions to issue like King Street’s trees is often difficult. Just as important as doing the required work properly, he said, is doing a good job thoroughly explaining legal and governmental processes to residents:

“One of the key aspects of this is really communication and education, and really in my mind that works two ways; we’re not always good at that,” he said. “We need to let people know in a timely manner why trees are being tagged.”

Ms. Jainschigg said residents up and down the street are worried about what will happen, and hope a solution can be found that involves keeping their beloved trees.

“We value our neighborhood character, not to mention the shade, as much a residents downtown and in the historic district value theirs,” she wrote.
“Many of those trees are close to the street, buckling the sidewalks. But the town is not cutting them down. We would like the same consideration — and a livable neighborhood.

Note: King Street is not the only area to have trees scheduled for removal. Two have been marked on Washington Street, as well.