Lewiston City Council holds off on tree ordinance

Lewiston City Council members voted Monday night to delay enactment of proposed regulations on planting, pruning and removal of trees in public rights of, way, while assuring people presenting the draft ordinance it was not being cut off at the trunk.

The proposed ordinance, prepared by a committee the council appointed a year ago, is a response to complaints about allegedly unsound and unattractive trimming of trees lining city streets. It calls for hiring a city forester to license and oversee anyone who plants or works on trees on planting strips between sidewalks and streets, but not on private property.

In making the motion to delay action, Council Member Douglas A. (Pat) MacKelvie moved that the city staff be directed to suggest how the ordinance could be implemented. After thanking the committee for its work, MacKelvie said he could not vote to enact it without knowing how much it would cost city government.

Council members Marion L. Shinn and James W. Grow agreed, with Grow adding that regulations could be severe enough to retard planting of new trees in planting strips.

“I for one would refrain from planting anything,” Grow said.

The ordinance calls for creation of a list of acceptable trees for such planting, and would provide guidelines for spacing of trees.

The move to delay action raised an initial objection from a member of the tree committee, who told the council, “We pretty much know what we’re talking about.”

Deanna Vickers said it would be “pretty unfair to pat us on the back and tell us we’ve done a real good job” without following the committee’s recommendations.

“I’m not trying to find a sneaky way to do away with your program,” MacKelvie responded, adding that he would neither instruct city employees to hurry back with recommendations in one week nor tell them, to forget the ordinance.

Frank B. Clark, chairman of the Lewiston Parks and Recreation Commission, said the ordinance is unclear as to whether it would force people to plant or prune trees if they chose not to.

“You’re saying, ‘You’ve got to do do this and this and this,”’ Clark said. “What if I don’t want to do anything?”

City Attorney Edwin L. Litteneker told Clark the ordinance would not require anyone to plant trees, and the city code already requires pruning in certain circumstances.

Before the council voted without dissent to postpone action, Council Member Leonard E. Williams told Vickers he and his colleagues received copies of the proposed ordinance Friday, and asked for patience.

“You say, ‘Do it,’” Williams said. “And you had a year to do it.”

“OK,” Vickers responded.

It wasn’t the only action delayed during the weekly council meeting.

Also postponed were decisions regarding complaints over uncompleted construction at the Valley Christian Center at 3215 Echo Hills Drive, proposed plans for a new improvement project at the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Airport and a request for vacation of an unused street at the former Camas Prairie Railroad depot on Main Street, which is being remodeled for commercial purposes.

The council did approve updating of the airport’s master plan, considered obsolete by Airport Manager Robin L. Turner; an hourly fee for non-emergency use of the city fireboat, the Karl Prehn; and appointment of the Rev. Larry E. Harrelson, of the Church of the Nativity (Episcopal), to fill a vacancy on the city library board.

This story was published in the April 23, 1985, edition of the Lewiston Tribune.