Dear Issaquah Highlands Community,
Today we made a mistake. The removal of trees on Marquette Way caught everyone by surprise. That should not have happened. We failed to communicate in advance and we own this.
The IHCA has a tree replacement strategy. We remove and replace trees when they are the wrong specimen for the location, are causing damage to infrastructure, or are diseased. All of the trees removed today met those criteria, and needed to be removed.
Tree removal and replacement will be an ongoing initiative in our community. In the future we promise to communicate with residents directly impacted as well as messaging the entire community when a significant change to our landscape is planned via our normal communication channels (Connections News, e-letter, and at IssaquahHighlands.com).
The Marquette Way trees will be replaced as soon as possible, with European Hornbeam or Katsura. These trees will be a better fit for this location because they have a smaller tree canopy and a more compact root system which is not as aggressive as the current Zelkova trees. These trees will prolong the life of the infrastructure and are also more resistant to disease.
