Letter: Langley plans ignore effect on tree roots
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Editor,
We understand that the city of Langley and Public Works are tasked with upgrading essential utilities and appreciate that this involves many difficult decisions. We’d like to find a mutually agreeable solution that provides for improvements within Langley Infrastructure Project 5, while preserving important trees.
We are concerned that the removal of trees due to these improvements may have short and long-term impacts on a fragile bluff environment. Historical reports demonstrate that our bluffs are highly unstable, resulting in failures over the years. Trees are a scientifically documented mechanism for absorbing excess storm and ground water, thereby stabilizing and maintaining the bluff’s integrity.
One element of preserving the trees, as stipulated in the current contract with EWS, is to ensure that an arborist be present for high value tree root assessments. As Randi Perry’s “LIP-2 Furman Avenue Tree Removal Application” report states, “when the contractor approaches” a tree with high probability of root encounters “an inspector must be onsite.”
We’re particularly concerned because trenching begins on Monday in front of the large cedars.
As we understand it, Caleb Cunningham, EWS’s on-island arborist, was hired for above ground pruning only, not root inspection. Thus, we expect the city to meet the requirements of the contract and have a certified arborist on site when there is a strong probability of high value tree root encounters.
In addition, to minimize root damage while going forward with the project, we urge you to reconsider moving storm water piping to the south side of the street.
Or at a minimum, determine if a 40-50 yard loop further into the road, around the large trees, could mitigate potential root damage.
Diana Deering
Susan Burgers
Linda Dethman
David Thomley
Cynthia Starkey
Scott Stapleton
Luanne Seymour
Steve Ready
David and Alicia Doctor
Thomas Cable and Carole Cable
Nancy Horan and Kevin Horan
Bruce and Marty Kortebein
Ellen Hecht
Mike and Barbara Lopuszynski
Kitty Adams
