Trees vs. houses: Narrow, leafy street is last chance for two Madrona homes waiting to be moved

If there is anything more Seattle than its passion for recycling, it is the city's love of tree-lined neighborhoods.

But on one tiny street in the Madrona neighborhood, there has not been enough room for both.

A small group of homeowners must agree by July 24 to whack back an unusually large and soothing urban canopy. If not, a pair of nearly 100-year-old Craftsman homes might be demolished, potentially sending more than 100 trees' worth of lumber to the landfill.

The conflict has featured dueling arborists, nasty anonymous blog postings, historic houses put on wheels, and enough hard feelings to spoil the potato salad at the next neighborhood block party.

Negotiations are ongoing. Meanwhile, the two homes — built in 1912 and 1916 — sit on the basketball court of a Madrona private school, awaiting their fate.

"We really don't want to demolish them there, but we will," said Matt Neely, head of Epiphany School. "There's a few days for them to work it out."

Houses on wheels

The house-versus-tree saga originated with a long-planned addition to Epiphany School. The school, which had bought the homes, sold them for $1 each to a house-moving specialist, Nickel Bros., best known for barging homes to the San Juan Islands.

Two of the houses ended up being demolished anyway — one because it was too shoddy, one when financing fell through. But buyers stepped forward for two remaining homes, paying moving costs of about $140,000 each. Those two-story, 1,900-square-foot homes were moved on 18-inch steel girders and 3-foot wheels to Epiphany's basketball court.

"We're getting a beautiful old house at a good price," said one of the buyers, Chris Page, who expects the total cost, with moving and pouring a new foundation, to come in at less than $600,000. "The fact that we're saving 60 to 80 mature trees and 100 tons from the landfill, that's a bonus."

Nickel Bros. wanted to delicately cart the houses — 26-½ feet wide at the base — down East Denny Way to Madison Valley on the night of July 25. But Metro officials, after months of negotiation, nixed the plan in late May because it would require removal of too many overhead electric-bus wires.

The only other option was East Howell Street, a narrow lane with nine houses and a graceful stretch of broad-leaf maples and home to a close-knit group of lawyers and techies.

That plan would require cutting overhanging branches up to a height of about 30 feet, and temporarily moving six street trees, including a beloved decades-old corkscrew willow, to make way for a two-hour dance down the three-block street. Homeowner approval was required because of the street-tree removal.

Given a one-week deadline to approve the plan in early June, the homeowners balked. They loathed the loss of the canopy, feared digging up the trees would kill them amid a dry summer. And they disliked the high-pressure deadline.

"The question we asked ourselves is, are we just being jerks — 'not in our neighborhood'?" said Jim Barker, one of the East Howell homeowners. "We have to live with the consequences of moving those houses on one night for 10 or 15 years. That overhang will not come back."

Cyber outcry

When the no vote was reported on a neighborhood blog, the Central District News, a war of conflicting Seattle values erupted on the story's comment board.

Homeowners were framed as "blind, selfish monsters" who "can't see the forest ... for the trees." The homeowners responded by accusing Nickel Bros. of "dumping" the problem on their laps because of poor planning.

The neighbors in opposition "are the same people that will complain when a Craftsman is replaced with a town home — and yet when the opportunity arises to step up and make a difference — they come up with every reason and excuse to not do so," wrote a critic.

The comments stung homeowners such as Tim Andersen. "It's a lot easier to say that stuff when it's not your property, when it's not your stuff," Andersen said.

Among the supporters of the move is Sandra Chait, who owns the maples that would be cut and happily agreed to the pruning. "This is the biggest tempest in a teapot I've ever seen. It's ridiculous," she said. "If you cut a branch, another will grow."

After the initial no vote, each side consulted arborists. Jeff McCord, Nickel Bros.' "house rescuer," offered to put a five-year warranty on the street trees that would be temporarily removed, and to fund a $6,000 "neighborhood-beautification fund." A meeting between McCord and the homeowners is scheduled for later this week.

"We completely understand and recognize it is a sacrifice they would rather not have to make," McCord said.

Sentimental journey

Tuesday, Chris Page, Katie Atkins and their 20-month-old daughter, Alice, climbed a ladder to the front door of their potential future home, the 1912 Craftsman sitting in the Epiphany School basketball court.

Amid the mortgage-market carnage, they had to get separate loans for the house and a lot, which happens to be next door to their current house in Madison Valley.

But Page said the price — less than $600,000 for the move, the lot and a new foundation — was right. The three-bedroom home has oak floors with mahogany inlays, a built-in china cabinet, high ceilings and a box-beamed ceiling in the dining room.

And he has sentimental attachments: He grew up across the street from Epiphany and used to climb on some of the maple trees now proposed to be trimmed.

Page, director of Homewaters Project, an environmental nonprofit, said he understands the East Howell homeowners' concerns. The overhanging trees are "a place of serenity, which is rare in the city," he said. "They understandably feel like they don't have much of a choice in this."

It'll be a tense few weeks, he said, amid final negotiations along the route. If all goes awry, and the homes are demolished, the couple would get their deposit with Nickel Bros. back, but they will still own an extra lot.

"Until it's delivered on the new lot," Page said, "I'm crossing my fingers."

Jonathan Martin: 206-464-2605 or jmartin@seattletimes.com