Ketchum tree trauma
Seven towering spruce trees removed to make way for homes
"We want to preserve quality trees that are of benefit to the
neighborhoods."
-Peter Ripsom,
Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission chairman
By RON SOBLE
Express Editor
Stumps are all that are left of seven spruce trees felled on
Friday to make way for three homes on a big Ketchum lot along Third Avenue. Express
photo by Ron Soble
Seven spruce trees—which a Ketchum resident called "some of the
oldest, biggest trees" in the city—were cut down Friday morning to make space
for the construction of three homes.
"It was heartbreaking to see them all come down," said Stacey
Sholtis, who lives near the residential project along Third Avenue between First and
Rivers streets.
Sholtis, 39, a Ketchum native, said she attempted to stop the tree
cutting, but to no avail. Eight spruce trees on the big lot were left alone.
"They were all healthy," said Pat Rainey, owner of Alpine Tree
Service of Hailey, which felled and mulched the approximately 60-foot-tall trees.
"They were just in the wrong place."
The homes’ architect, Jim Ruscitto of Ketchum, said he "spent
six months trying to figure out designs to work around [the trees]," but finally
threw in the towel.
The three two-story homes, he said, will be approximately 4,000 square
feet in size and are second residences constructed by out-of-state owners.
Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission chairman Peter Ripsom said the city
doesn’t have a tree ordinance.
"Anyone can cut a tree down anytime they want," he said in a
telephone conversation, with the exception of trees in certain areas such as mountain
overlay and riparian zones. "We do not have a tree ordinance to protect existing
trees."
Ripsom said, however, he’d like to see "an ordinance preserving
[certain] trees in healthy condition." He said he’s suggested such language in
the city’s developing comprehensive plan.
"We want to preserve quality trees that are of benefit to the
neighborhoods," he said.
Doug Webb, a Ketchum-based landscaping contractor who was in charge of the
tree removal project, said that because of the size of the trees, which may be about 50
years old or more, they couldn’t be replanted.
"God, it’s too bad," Webb said of the plight of the trees
in a telephone interview.
Architect Ruscitto said 28 new spruce trees would be planted on the
lot—four mature trees up to 30 feet in height, the others about 14 feet high.
As for Sholtis, she said she was wearing sun glasses on a cold, overcast
day because her eyes were red from crying.
"It’s a shame," she said, pointing to a pile of stripped
tree trunks. "Everyone needs to be aware of what’s happening."
