Hospital's East Side Buffer Significantly Thinned Out Impacting Neighbors

Area along Ocean garage on 45th Avenue NE

before landscaping and removal

. 

View from SE corner of Ocean garage looking north 

in early 2000s before overgrowth

Current status:

green tarp put back where 

there  remains little vegetation as buffer

new plants installed yesterday

Neighbors have been inquiring about what is going on behind the hedges that run along the east side of the Hospital on 44th and 45th Avenues NE.  

A large tree trimming truck showed up one day along with a big crew to remove most of the shrubbery and greenery in an area that has provided a significant sound, light and visual barrier for decades from the  24 hours daily activities at the Ocean parking Garage directly behind the hedge. 

It is reported that residents along the perimeter can now clearly hear cars being locked, lights shining in their homes and car alarms and cars driving over the steel bumps throughout the garage. Also during the Hospital work, the black covering all along the fence was removed and not put back. One neighbor said keeping the tarp was a decades long agreement between neighbors and the Hospital. 

Now only a narrow hedge remains with a few thinned out trees behind the wide area behind the hedge.  Children's did not post anything in their Construction Blog  about the project or notify nearby neighbors of the significant long-term impacts of the extensive work.  

The Laurelhurst Blog contacted Children's Grounds Department manager who said:

The area between the Ocean parking garage and 45^th Ave NE has been pretty thoroughly neglected since it was planted in about 2003. Originally the hillside below the retaining wall was planted with heather and small shrubs, and the area above the retaining wall was densely planted with shrubs and trees.

 

Now, looking from that vantage point now, the area is covered with trees.  However not one of those trees below the wall was purposely planted; they all blew in as volunteer weed trees. They include cottonwoods, willows, a horse chestnut, quaking aspen, and other trees. They do create a wonderful screen for the neighborhood, however, so that part is a blessing. But unfortunately, the lower area also became filled with dense blackberry – so dense that it has grown up 20+’ in some places, into the trees and to the area above the wall.

 

Dense blackberry climbs up trees, shades out other plants, and over time kills things trapped underneath it. The area at the north end, above the retaining wall, was so infested that no living plants remained underneath. There is also a large fallen dead pine tree lying on the slope that obviously has been there for years, but the blackberry was so incredibly dense and tall, and the area so inaccessible, that the tree was not visible until the blackberry was  removed.

 

This past spring we began the process of renovating the full length of the space above the retaining wall to create a dense but beautiful screen of shrubs and trees for the neighbors:

1. Cut down blackberries and dig out the roots. Remove dead plants and hazardous dead/dying trees from the area below the retaining wall. The healthy living trees and shrubs will remain. The area underneath will also be replanted with a mix of trees, shrubs, and understory plantings to add to the visual & sound barrier between the hospital and neighborhood.
2. Remove ivy off trees, as that also kills them over time.
3. Remove dead shrubs and trees only 
4. Prune off large dead branches that could be a hazard if they fell.
5. Mulch the area to prevent weeds and erosion.
6. Lay 70 cubic yards of animal-friendly wood chips at the north end 
7. Add back trees, shrubs, ferns, and small plants to create a multi-layered canopy and understory of plantings that will result in a much more effective visual and sound barrier, not just at the edge of the 45^th Avenue NE sidewalk, but across the full depth of the space. 
8. Clear and dig out the blackberry and dead plants out of the area below the retaining wall. Any hazardous or dead/dying trees will be removed (there are only a few) and the rest of the living trees and shrubs will remain. The area underneath will also be replanted with a mix of trees, shrubs, and understory plantings to add to the visual & sound barrier between the hospital and neighborhood.
9. 44th Avenue NE: remove and dig blackberry, remove ivy off trees. One large shrub rose was renovated that had been heavily infested with blackberry was cut down and is now in the process of growing right back.  Trees that were knocked down in the February 2019 snowstorm and are leaning heavily on the chain link fence have been pruned.  Additional trees and shrubs will ble planted on the parking lot side of the space so that if any closer to the fence fail and need to be removed, there will be replacement trees behind it so that the visual barrier remains continuous.

I am very committed to creating and maintaining an effective and beautiful barrier between the hospital and neighborhood.  It's important to me that it’s healthy and sustainable for years to come, and does not include massive weed infestations, hazardous trees, or areas so dense that they cannot be appropriately maintained. Unfortunately our choices were to deal with the issue or ignore it, as had been done previously, while it gets worse and worse every year. I think over the next year, as the space comes together and begins to grow in with new plantings, people will be very pleased with it. It is a much needed improvement that will be designed to last years into the future. 

I am also always available and happy to meet with concerned neighbors.  My hours are Mon, Wed, Friday, 5am-2:45pm. Tues & Thurs, 5-11:30am and my schedule is pretty flexible within those times. 

Megan posted this  same information on the Hospital's Construction Blog after the Laurelhurst Blog inquired about all the activity behind the hedges.

Children's Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Russ Williams, also sent the Laurelhurst Blog this information:

Our grounds department embarked on an effort to improve the buffer along 45^th Avenue NE this summer and had to remove a lot of dead and invasive material since it had not been touched for some time. Replanting in this area will happen over the next few months to fill in portions of the perimeter where there is visibility to the hospital. To the extent possible, we will select large plants as replacements. Our grounds crew has already installed green landscaping fabric, as the Laurelhurst Blog requested.

 

Our Construction Blog post generally focuses on activities that cause noise or involve heavy machinery, and not regular maintenance. In the future, when we embark on major landscaping projects, such as along the perimeter of the hospital we will be more thoughtful about informing neighbors in advance. At times, we have delivered fliers to nearby neighbors when we have particularly impactful work and will continue to do so when we feel it is warranted. Normally we do this for night work or after hours work that might disturb neighbors during off hours, not for regular maintenance. Please extend our apologies to any neighbors who were caught by surprise by the tree removals and general landscaping work. 

Meghan Fuller's contact information: meghan.fuller@seattlechildrens.org, 206.307.6687 (cell) and 206.987.8740 (office).

For construction related questions call 206-987-8000 or email construction@seattlechildrens.org with questions.

In the same area, is a bench dedicated to the memory of a construction worker who was killed in 2001 when an 80-foot elm tree he was transplanting per Hospital directions, fell and crushed the cab of the crane he was operating.