BOISE, Idaho — Editor's Note: This article was originally published in the Idaho Press.
Late last year, a family renovating a North End property unwittingly demolished 10 mature trees without a necessary permit. North Enders, and others, bent on maintaining the City of Trees’ historic character and natural amenities, say it was the latest example of a trending problem.
Restoration and remodeling projects are threatening the appeal of Boise’s oldest neighborhoods, they say, and the city should take a more active role in enforcing guidelines to maintain historic districts.
Kate Henwood co-chairs the North End Neighborhood Association’s Historic Preservation Committee, a group that advises neighbors and government bodies on issues that may impact the area’s historical integrity. When she’s not “sprinting from chainsaw noise to chainsaw noise” herself, Henwood acts as a sort of liaison between policymakers and North End residents, including those upset by the tree removals near 19th and Ada streets. Last year’s illegal tree removal is exactly the type of phenomenon she hopes to prevent.
“The loss is just really disorienting and obviously upsetting to the folks who have been looking at them and enjoying them for years and years,” she said of the trees.
Those responsible were apologetic. Patrick Gerety contracted a local arborist to remove the trees — a mix of Norway Spruce, Austrian Pine, Linden and other species — to make room for a new home for his in-laws, next door to the future Gerety home, which is also being renovated. Gerety got bad information, he told the city’s Historic Preservation Commission during a meeting this year. The contracted arborist erroneously told him city permits weren’t required to remove those trees.
In fact, trees within Boise’s 10 historic districts are regulated by the city’s planning staff, and a historic planning permit, called a certificate of appropriateness, is required before those trees can be removed. The tree removal policy is one of a slew of regulations on improvements or demolitions of both residential and commercial properties within historic districts. A 111-page document details residential design polices and appropriate “direction on preserving the integrity of historic resources.”
Gerety apologized for the mistake during a February commission meeting.
“We are a family. We are working people, and the overarching purpose of this project is to allow our families to be together,” he said. “It was never our intention to upset our neighbors, cause anyone emotional distress or flout the rules and laws of Boise. I am deeply sorry for all of those things.”
Other alterations in recent months have violated the historic guidelines and angered residents. Homes in the North End and East End were demolished, or partially demolished, without permits. Trees have been removed during bird-nesting season, Henwood said. And preservation advocates say the most recent case shows awareness and enforcement need to be strengthened.
“The situation at 19th and Ada (Gerety’s property) has been a wound for the North End and particularly for the historic district,” said David Klinger, a North End resident who is active in city planning advocacy. “We in the City of Trees need to instill in people the realization that trees are an integral part of a historic district and that there is a process by which tree removals can be done, but you’ve got to follow the process.”
The city resolved the 19th and Ada tree dispute by requiring that new trees be planted, which the property owners said, through their attorney, they were willing to do. In March, the Historic Preservation Commission denied an application to retroactively approve the tree removal permit as well as two additional permits to demolish the current house and relocate a canal — some neighbors are opposed to those plans, as well. In June, the City Council, while sympathetic to neighbors’ discontent, overruled the commission and allowed the project to move forward.
“Our job here is to sort out what to do with it, not to make a decision based on what should have been done the first time around,” said Councilman Patrick Bageant during the June 29 meeting. “That’s punishment and retribution, and that’s not what we do. That’s what our code enforcement does.”
Mark Baltes, a former longtime North End Neighborhood Association board member, said educating the public about the historic guidelines is one key to avoiding these situations. The other: enforcement, which could involve financial penalties, but that hasn’t been the norm in historic districts, Baltes said.
“We can’t replace the 10 trees that were cut down,” he said. “It shouldn’t have happened in the first place. What do you do after the fact?”
Boise’s Planning and Development Services Department seems to be on the same page. Deputy Planning Director Cody Riddle said the city recently updated its tree removal website, created a how-to video for tree removal, sent letters to homeowners in historic districts outlining requirements and sent a similar letter to companies licensed to remove trees. Next, the city is looking to strengthen enforcement, to “establish a process that someone has to go through that’s perhaps a little different than the typical application process when it has involved an unpermitted activity,” he said.
Preservation advocates give kudos to the city to making such efforts but remain chagrined at the recent blows to their neighborhood’s historic features.
There’s a “cumulative impact” that’s “frankly, killing our historic districts on an incremental basis,” Henwood said.
Ryan Suppe is the Boise City Hall and Treasure Valley business reporter for the Idaho Press. Contact him at 208-344-2055 (ext. 3038). Follow him on Twitter @salsuppe.
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