Judge: Tree-cutting at Ingraham High needs city approval

The Seattle School District can't cut down some 100 trees on the Ingraham High School campus until it obtains a permit from the city, a King County Superior Court judge ruled Monday.

The district had hoped to remove the trees before students returned to class Sept. 3.

A group calling itself Save Our Trees filed a lawsuit earlier this month to block the district from cutting down about 100 trees as part of a $24 million renovation project. The district did not seek community opinions or face proper environmental review in its plan to remove the grove, which is a migration corridor for birds and other animals, the group argued.

After withdrawing an application for permits to construct an addition to the school, the district contended it was free to remove the trees because none of them constitute "exceptional trees" under the city code. The district planned to remove the trees, then reapply for master-use permits for its renovation project — a process the district estimates could take until February.

In his ruling Monday, Judge John Erlick said the district "has sought to place the proverbial cart before the horse" by trying to remove the trees before the renovation project had received city approval.

Shannon McMinimee, attorney for the district, said she will move to have the ruling dismissed, saying the school district was not properly notified of Monday's hearing and that the issue is outside the court's jurisdiction.

Save Our Trees is contesting a city hearing examiner's determination that the plan did not need full environmental review. The group accused the district of trying to bypass environmental review in the permitting process by planning to remove the trees before applying for the permit, improving its chances of approval.

The district plans to cut down nearly 70 trees from a stand of 133, as well as 30 more trees deemed diseased, and to remove portable classrooms to build an addition to the school.

Erlick temporarily blocked the district from removing the trees two weeks ago pending Monday's hearing. Save Our Trees was ordered to pay a $7,500 bond to offset the district's cost of delaying the trees' removal.

Monday's ruling was meant to preserve the intent of the environmental-review process and allow for court consideration of the lawsuit, which would be moot if the trees were gone before the case could be heard, Erlick said.

David Tucker, spokesman for the school district, said the decision may delay the district's plans for the much-needed addition to the 50-year-old school building. The current portables are old and lack basic necessities, such as running water, Tucker said.

"We're concerned that this may endanger the project," Tucker said. The school had hoped to save money by removing the trees during the dry season, he said.

The district asked Erlick to impose an additional bond on Save Our Trees to cover potential costs in delaying the project. Erlick said the current $7,500 bond was suitable, saying it is unknown what, if any, delays the injunction will cause and that "none of us, not even judges, can predict what the weather will be in February."

If there is a delay, Erlick said, it's "of the district's own working."

Keith Scully, attorney for Save Our Trees, said the injunction is a major victory.

"We're ecstatic," said Steve Zemke, the group's spokesman.

Noelene Clark: 206-464-2321 or nclark@seattletimes.com

Information from The Seattle Times archives is included in this report.

Information in this article, originally published Aug. 26, 2008, was corrected Aug. 26, 2008. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the age for the school, which opened in the fall of 1959, according to the school's Web site.