By Tim Clifford

On Mar. 6 cutting and clearing work began on the site of the former Seattle City Light substation located at S.W. 144 St. and Ambaum Blvd. S.W. While almost everything will go two trees are set to be preserved thanks to the efforts of a few local activists and the City of Burien.

“What we’ve been focused on for the last couple of weeks is working with City Light and working with local neighbors who care about the cherry tree especially, but all of the mature trees on site, is trying to preserve as many of those trees as possible through the environmental remediation process,” said Burien City Manager Kameron Gurol.

A cherry tree and a pine tree that both sit at the front of the lot will now have their root systems cleaned and be preserved with the City of Burien covering those costs. Karen McMichael, Jane Martin, and Alice Goodman have pledged to take up fundraising efforts to reimburse the city of Burien for a portion of those costs.

“We have committed to raising funds via "crowd sourcing" equaling about $9000 to retain the other large trees in the park and vactor the soil, so we can begin the process of preparing it to become a city pocket park with some interesting possible uses by citizens,” wrote Jane Martin in an email.

The decision to move ahead with the preservation efforts was reached during a Burien City Council meeting on Mar. 1.

“Because of citizen interest, the cherry tree and a large pine tree next to it will not be cut down for now. However, the City of Burien still needs to purchase the property to protect it from developers that SCL could sell it to,” wrote Martin.

An online petition is set to be circulated. The crowdsourcing site that will be used has yet to be determined at this time.

The site of the former substation sits is notable not only for the beloved cherry tree but also for being the main access point to reaching Seahurst Park. All street signs and online routes found via Google Maps lead past the substation. Concerns were raised as to the aesthetic value of clearcutting construction or turning the site into a small business lot.

“The other trees will be cut this week and we hope to start the soil clean-up next week. As far as what happens with the property next, those discussions are still underway, and so we’re still talking with Burien as to whether they want to acquire the property or not, so what becomes of it long-term has yet to be determined,” explained Scott Thomsen of Seattle City Light.

Though the city and these local advocates have committed to preserving the trees there is the potential for a scenario where the next purchaser of the lot could choose to cut those trees down. The decision to buy the property now rests with the Burien City Council.

Over the past two years Seattle City Light has been clearing the sites of their former substations all across Seattle. Last year’s efforts were focused in north Seattle with this year’s push being in the south Seattle area. The soil of these former substations is highly contaminated from previous use and filled with pesticides and chemicals such as DDT, dieldrin, cadmium, and lead.

Signs were posted for the weeks leading up to the lot clearing proclaiming the soil to be poisonous and dangerous.

The vactor or cleaning process for the trees includes removing and vacuuming the contaminated soil from the root systems and then replacing it with clean soil. The process is priced at roughly $9,800 for each tree and is regarded as time consuming and delicate work.

“It’s more expensive for one, so City Light said “our project budget doesn’t have this expense included”. So the city is stepping up for part of that and the neighborhood, at least the leaders, have expressed a willingness to fund a portion of this as well,” said Gurol.

No timeline was given as to when the city of Burien would reach a purchasing decision.