By Luisa Loi
La Conner Community News
Twenty-two trees along E. Pearl Jensen Way and Fisherman Road in the Port of Skagit will be removed to make room for La Conner-made vessels as they prepare to hit the water.
Earlier this year, the Port submitted to the Town of La Conner an application to remove the plants from the port industrial zone as they would obstruct the movement of large boats leaving the production facility. The Planning Commission approved this request during a public hearing on March 17.
Now, the Town is working with an arborist to identify suitable sites to plant 93 native trees that the Port would donate to make up for the loss of a total tree diameter of 533 inches, according to Planning Director Ajah Eills and information included in the March 17 meeting packet.
The removal will allow boat manufacturer Mavrik Marine to move its 165-foot-long ferries from the production facility to the launch site, located at the north end of the marina, without any metal-wood collisions.
In April, the business began construction of the first of eight ferries for the Golden Gate Highway and Transportation District in San Francisco. In a previous interview, Mavrik President Bailey Shewchuk said these are some of the largest passenger ferries in North America.
Space limitations aside, the trees — non-native Scots and Austrian pines that are at least 30 years old — also pose a hazard to people and equipment. Linda Tyler, the Port’s communications director, wrote in an email that several of them show “significant damage and limb loss.” In a letter sent to the Town in early March, La Conner Maritime General Manager Isaac Oczkewicz wrote that the roots have caused “noticeable damage” to the surrounding pavement.
When the Planning Commission approved the Port’s application, Eills explained the 93-tree quota was calculated with a formula, but may be impractical to accommodate.
Monday, she wrote in an email that if there are less than 93 spots available for tree planting, the Port will make up the difference by paying a fee that amounts to what they would have otherwise paid to buy the replacements, with the Town using the funds to plant and take care of the trees.
In a public notice, the Port stated its finding that removing the trees “will not have a probable significant adverse impact on the environment.” The deadline to submit comments regarding the determination of non-significance was Tuesday.
When asked about the wildlife that finds refuge and shade in the trees, Eills said industrial and maritime lands such as this particular site are typically not compatible with wildlife habitats. Tyler pointed out the tree benefits are why the Town required their replacement as a mitigation measure.
A notice of application for the Shoreline Substantial Development permit will be posted on site and on the Town website, and will be mailed to property owners within 300 feet of the site, Eills wrote.
Once the permitting and mitigation requirements are complete, the Port will remove the trees and provide free firewood to Community Action of Skagit County, which will distribute it to low-income residents who need to heat their homes in the winter, Tyler wrote. The site will then be covered with grass.
The Planning Commission will discuss updating tree-related provisions in La Conner’s municipal code later this fall, Eills wrote. The last update was passed in 1995.
Luisa Loi is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
