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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Is BSA right to allow gay scout leaders? ... Ticket Availability ... Police Reports ... Is BSA right to allow gay scout leaders? ... Ticket Availability ... Police Reports ... CLAY STREET COTTONWOOD Demonstrators hope to save tree Some vow to chain selves to 2013 Tree of the Year if plans to cut it down proceed Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted May. 17, 2015 at 3:15 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted May. 17, 2015 at 3:15 PM » RELATED CONTENT What do you think? --> Have an opinion on this issue? Send a letter to the editor at www.dailytidings.com/sendletter. » Read more X What do you think? Have an opinion on this issue? Send a letter to the editor at www.dailytidings.com/sendletter . • Ashland affordable housing project would likely mean removal of beloved cottonwood tree... • Only voters can make a tree tops in town • Tree-prieve » Social News They came, they sang and beat on a dozen drums, they gave speeches of love for the Fremont Cottonwood tree that has stood on lower Clay Street since, they say, pioneer days — and they vowed support for both the tree and affordable housing units poised to displace it. It’s a mounting conundrum for city hall and the city council, which, at the direction of the city council, is in the process of preparing a request for a tree removal permit that will go to the city Tree Commission and Planning Commission for consideration — and would, in all likelihood, be appealed to the council. The giant was, in 2014, named city Tree of the Year for 2013. That citation puts the tree's diameter at breast height at about 6.25 feet, with a height of 75 feet and canopy spreading 90 feet, and estimates its age at more than 100 years old. An arborist's report prepared for the city in 2013, however, identifies the tree as an Eastern Cottonwood and estimates its age as about 75 years old. That's based on 10-inch core samples from each side of tree, each of which had 21 annual growth rings; multiplying by the tree's radius of, by this arborist's measurement, about 36 inches, yields the estimated age. The tree dominates a .92-acre parcel at 380 Clay St. which the city has, since it purchased the property in 2008, intended to sell to the Housing Authority of Jackson County as a site for affordable housing. The city's sales agreement with the authority calls for the city to issue a tree removal permit as part of the transfer. The council voted 4-1 on March 3 to start the process of submitting a tree removal permit application. “This is a game-changer,” said city Councilor Carol Voison, who cast the dissenting vote, observing the 50-some people rallying to save the tree Saturday. “This shows wide community support for keeping the tree alive and that now it can’t be cut down.” Many speakers at the rally voiced support for a “win-win” approach, that both saves the tree and attains to the goal of three or four more affordable housing units. That’s how many would be built if the tree weren’t there.  Gregg Trunnell, a neighbor to the tree and chairman of the city’s Tree Commission, said he negotiated a three-month tree-cutting moratorium with the Housing Authority of Jackson County, saving it through July 31. It's unlikely the tree removal permit would work it's way through the process before then, which would be required before the property transfer could take place. “We require more time from the city. I truly believe we can do it,” said Trunnell. “I’m confident. We’ve formed a Clay Street Neighborhood Group, eight of us, meeting weekly and it’s always positive. No one’s attacking anyone, not like the witchhunt around the Plaza remodeling.” The plot is being sold to HAJC for $325,000 and Trunnell said, if it has to be, anti-cutting forces can raise that amount of money for purchase of affordable housing property elsewhere in town, so the tree can be left standing and the area converted, with old barns and house, into a park for the existing affordable housing neighborhood.  Mark and Cici Brown, who made a movie protesting the Plaza re-do, are also making a film on the cottonwood called “The Tree of Hope,” to be shown at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Ashland Peace House, 543 Mountain Ave. It’s free and open to the public. The plaza film will also be shown.  The demonstration and the fact that a citizen persuaded the Housing Authority on a moratorium are both “game changers,” said Voisin. “It’s a great idea to raise money for other land. There’s lots of land for affordable housing here. These citizens are not trying to buck city council. They support affordable housing and are trying to find a win-win. They are very respectful.”  Voisin said she expected an appeal of the tree-cutting permit would come before the city council about September, although she’s been told by city hall that they want it approved sooner. She said she will vote against the permit, but doesn’t know of any other council members who feel that way. Emphasizing she was speaking as a citizen, not a council member, Voisin said she will climb the tree if chain saws show up — and that backers have a woman who says she will chain herself up the tree over a longer term. Despite opposition, Voisin said, “I don’t think the city does care how many demonstrate. They didn’t care that over a thousand signed petitions to save it.” Organizer and neighborhood committee member Bryan Holley reminded demonstrators to “send out positive vibrations and don’t respond with an angry or bitter message. We are smart enough to create a win-win. We can save the tree and build more affordable housing too. This is not a protest but a celebration. Tell the truth to power. Start writing letters and making noise, but very smart noise.” Protestors often spoke of a spiritual relationship with the tree. “She has a very spiritual power. When you walk around her, you can feel it. When the fence was down and I touched her, it was so powerful,” said Norma Bowen, a main petitioner for it to be Tree of the Year. “It’s important we save it,” said Pamela Erickson. “It’s so old, as old as the redwoods. It has beauty and character. We should make this place a meditation park for people to come and sit. Trees have energy and put out so much oxygen.” “You can hear the calling of the tree,” said neighbor David Winn. “The tree is sacred. The drums draw strength from it.” “It’s so ancient, when you walk under it, you feel the pull of it,” says neighbor Cindy Bowman. “It slows you down and connects you to your heart. It would be an absolute violation of the heart to cut it down, absolutely wrong. People spend their lives trying to figure out how to fit in and what’s our purpose, but you spend 60 seconds sitting under that tree and you just know.” Her son Justin, 12, said, “Me and my friend Wilson stop and touch it. We stay five hours up in it. It feels magical. I climb a lot of trees but this one is different. I was devastated when I heard they are going to cut it.” Wanda Nelson said, “I’m here because it’s time we should be saving and planting trees instead of destroying a tree that does an incredible job for us.” Saying the tree was a hazard due to the possibility of it dropping limbs, the city erected a chain-link fence around it. The fence has become a bulletin board for pro-tree forces. One sign, from arborist Tom Myers, said it “should be maintained and preserved ... it is a magnificent specimen that deserves our care.”  Another sign says, “I was here first. If I’m in the way, please build around me.” Others say, “Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them or listen to them can learn the truth” and “Trees are poems that write upon the sky” and “Trees are the lungs of the world.” According to Trunell, arborists have calculated the age of the tree at 150 years. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted May. 17, 2015 at 3:15 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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