Touch that 20' tall tree in your parking strip, however, and you're looking at a fine.

The city's position is charming: if you don't let us take this tree down, we'll chop down a bunch of others.

Peace, love, and tree rights!

"The only way we could possibly do this..."

STOP RIGHT THERE!

There is always another way to do something. What these folks lack is the ability to connect with their surroundings and find that answer. Their egos are too bound up in their own little worlds, so they see the tree as a problem, not as the answer.

"Repurposing" a very elder member of our community is kind of like killing grandpa and turning him into a coat hanger.

This issue has much less to do with TREES than the rules government imposes on citizens, while declaring itself except from following those same rules.

It has turned citizen voters from the ultimate governing authority, into submissive servants of the ruling class.

* exempt *

Implementing "the plan" at any cost whatsoever seems to be the city's modus operandi.
Absolutely nothing will be safe from being labeled a "small price to pay", and for what? A self-sustaining planners and developers paradise.

Well, it's clearly way too costly to build around it. And...it pays no taxes.

And I love the way they take the tree from poor NoPo so they can 'repurpose' it in ritzy Westmoreland.

I don't know whatever happened to "re-use" and why they need to say "re-purpose" now. Does it really make this tree-turned-into-playground effort anymore appealing when they say re-purpose? It's pretentious and insulting.

The statement that's the real killer is, "It will help kids connect with nature . . ."

A chopped-down, "re-purposed" living tree would help kids connect with nature? Wouldn't it help kids connect with nature more if it were intact, living and growing and made a part of the trail that's being constructed? Killing a tree and building a play structure with the remains doesn't teach good stewardship. It just teaches kids it's OK to use any living thing that gets in your way for your own purposes.

Go around the tree. What's the big deal? There's plenty of open space in Cathedral Park.

The Safari Club in Estacada used to have plenty of "Re-Purposed" wild animals on its walls.

I'm sure that helped diners connect with nature, too.

Does anyone know how old this tree was?

Mark Ross has re-purposed himself from a Nerf Ball reporter to a Hack who is mooching for a PERS package.

These so called Media professionals make me ill as we know they are positioning themselves for a gubberment job and have intent of telling us what we need to know.

Op's, I left out the word NO. "and have NO intent" Sorry.

We had to chop down the tree in order to save it...
"taking care of the trees" equals cutting them down!

In the next mayoral election I'm running as "The Plan". I'll win hands down.

More like "we have to destroy nature to save it."

"Repurposing" a very elder member of our community is kind of like killing grandpa and turning him into a coat hanger.

Replace "coat hanger" with "Soylent Green".

Does anyone know how old this tree was?

Don't know, but what is getting real old is the way the city treats us!!
How about broadcasting to the rest of the country/world what this "green sustainable" city just did?

Who is in charge of parks now? Fish isn't a good steward of parks and if the bureaus have been turned over to Hales, good luck there. He was the one who was responsible for park problems years ago, and I warned people on here about that before the election. 75 trees with red x's were ready to be chopped in Pier Park years ago when Hales was Parks Commissioner. The citizens outcry stopped that. If Hales could have stopped this and didn't, what is it about Pier Park? What I should say is what is it about Charlie Hales and Pier Park that he allows a grand tree there to be slaughtered.
I firmly believe that a Mayor could have stopped this.
Years ago, some called him Chainsaw Charlie.
Watch out Portland!

Does anyone know how old this tree was?

Don't know, but what is getting real old is the way the city treats us!!
How about broadcasting to the rest of the country/world what this "green sustainable" city just did?

So, is there hope, is the tree still up?

Who is in charge of parks now? Fish isn't a good steward of parks and if the bureaus have been turned over to Hales, good luck there. He was the one who was responsible for park problems years ago, and I warned people on here about that before the election. 75 trees with red x's were ready to be chopped in Pier Park years ago when Hales was Parks Commissioner. The citizens outcry stopped that. If Hales could have stopped this and hasn't, what is it about Pier Park? What I should say is what is it about Charlie Hales and Pier Park that he would allow a grand tree there to be slaughtered.
I firmly believe that a Mayor could stop this.
Years ago, some called him Chainsaw Charlie.
Watch out Portland!
What is the outcome Charlie? Have you changed your stripes, have you matured or are you going to keep on chopping?

Sorry about two posts.
Hopefully you can eliminate the first one.
Since it looked like possibly the tree hadn't been chopped yet, I rewrote it a bit.

If more people would quit voting for the "selected" choices and think outside the box, our Portland Mayor could have been Scott Fernandez. Our trees wouldn't be living in fear today!

ydinbger,
Yes, too bad, I am sure there would have been less fear in our city all around.

One more thing before I retire this evening.
I was told that this plan had been in the works for two years, yet the neighborhood did not know of it until a post was put on the tree just days ago.
NOW, can we assume that the bike lobbyists have known about this from the get go??
If so, Shame on them for their selfish vested interests!!
Will the grand tree 120 foot tall, 18 feet around still stand tomorrow?

On another note, are the green environmentalists in hiding?

So where the hell are the tree hugging dirt people?

Whats say we get together and go down on cut day and save the little fella?
Cameras rolling and showing the country what mean bullies our over paid baby sitters are.

fancypants:So where the hell are the tree hugging dirt people?

I am back again. Hard to sleep knowing that grand living tree is going to be taken "care" of by our trusty parks bureau.

It is others who need to show up here too. How about the Friends of Trees, that is the group that Charlie Hales likes to associate with. Will they come to the rescue?

How about any leaders left in our community who care about stewardship or is that too another old fashioned word? Just doesn't fit in with green, eco and sustainable, does it? That stewardship word isn't part of the new buzz words by the city, I wonder why?

Yeah I am disgusted, the hypocrisy is beyond, I think we need to put this on the national blogs and have the rest of the country focus on our "eco-green" city
they like to parade around. People travel from all over to see these big trees redwoods, etc. but our parks bureau chops and acts as if mitigation is the remedy. Here is a remedy, stop those pet projects of millions and instead use some dollars to find another path!!

Charlie, what's on your chopping list today?

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/residents-protest-plan-chop-giant-sequoia-article-1.1269335

"We don't just go around cutting trees down willy-nilly," Ross said. "This is a very carefully considered project."

It wasn't very carefully considered with the neighborhood, was it?
Yes they do go willy-nilly, check the history Ross.

The dirty deed is done!

Now Watch out Portland!

Charlie Hale's stripes haven't changed!

I firmly believe that a Mayor could stop this.
Years ago, some called him Chainsaw Charlie.

Feb. 22, 2013
Chainsaw Charlie

You're right Clinamen,
Charlie Hales stripes haven't changed, but they morph as needed!