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Take a Step Towards Climate Justice in Seattle.
This redwood grove was planted 100 years ago and is nestled among native conifers and healthy understory trees. The trees tower over a historic home and benefit from the underground streams on this steep slope, part of which is designated an Environmentally Critical Area (ECA).
A developer has applied to subdivide the lot and utilize part of the ECA, which will also require the removal of many of the trees. Community members submitted over 50 comments of concern, resulting in a public meeting on June 5, 2024.
Thank you to Friends of Seattle's Olmsted Parks, who provided valuable research on the history of this grove and garden. While not an Olmsted design, this landscape has all the hallmarks of a period in Seattle history when the Olmsted influence, and incorporation of naturalistic design, informed a growing interest in preserving natural beauty in urban settings.
We are asking SDCI to restrict the site plan footprint to the level open lawn area in back of the main house which will remain. The current plan allows new buildings to encroach into the groves. This will destabilize the slope and result in the loss of a biodiverse forest supporting both humans and many wildlife species.
Send an email to the owner and the city asking for this grove to be saved. Click here or copy & paste below.
To: davidshearer@gmail.com
CC: mayor.wilson@seattle.gov; joy.hollingsworth@seattle.gov; council@seattle.gov
Subject: Please Save the McGilvra Redwoods
Dear Mr. Shearer,
I’m writing to ask you to reconsider removing large trees from the McGilvra redwood grove — the largest redwood grove on private property in Seattle — to construct a retaining wall. No clear justification has been given for why the wall must cut through the grove.
These trees anchor an Environmentally Critical Area, cool Seattle’s growing urban heat, provide wildlife habitat, absorb stormwater, and protect the community. Seattle’s tree rules may allow this, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right choice. Saving this grove would show real care for the community and the environment. Please move the retaining wall and build around the grove — not through it.
Sincerely,
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