City will allow trees to be cut for townhouses

Port Washington aldermen last week agreed to allow John and Jan Lanser to cut down diseased and damaged trees and shrubs on the East Jackson Street hillside adjacent to their proposed townhouse project.

Although the work will not be done on property being used for the townhouse project, it is important for the development, John Lanser told aldermen.

“We don’t want to spend all that money and have the trees fall down,” he said.

The city’s approval is required because the trees and shrubs are in a conservation easement the city and property owners Mike and Ruth Schmit reached in 2004.

“The land is to be primarily protected in its natural state,” City Attorney Eric Eberhardt told the Common Council May 5, adding the Schmits have agreed to allow the Lansers to do the work.

However, he noted, the easement allows damaged and diseased trees, shrubs and ground cover to be removed as long as they are replaced.

City Forester Jon Crain conducted a survey of the 20-by-60-foot property and reported that there were only invasive species within the easement, adding that many of the larger trees have “structural defects and cavities in them caused by disease or damage followed by decay.”

Removing these trees would aid in conservation, he said, since they could be replaced with native species, allowing for more diverse plant life.

The damaged trees can cause erosion problems when they become top heavy and the root systems are in poor locations, Crain said. When removing and placing the trees, he added, the grade could be reduced, which  would help decrease erosion and runoff.

Crain will oversee the work, including working with the Lansers on the selection of replacement trees and shrubs, aldermen said. 

The work will be done at the developers’ expense, the council agreed.