Citizen journal: Progress is sometimes sad
Felled trees are removed from the former Sun Dance Golf Course, seen from the back deck of Alyce Kunze’s home. (Courtesy of Alyce Kunze)
We have lived in a small condominium group alongside the old Sun Dance Golf Course along Highway 291 for about five and a half years. When we first saw what later became our cozy little nest, we were enchanted by all the beautiful tall trees bordering the common ground lawn and lovely landscaping.
About six weeks after we moved in came the big windstorm of November 2015. We spent that evening watching the huge trees whipping around while we prayed none would fall on any of our homes. Indeed, some people died in that storm. We lost our electricity for almost a week.
As retired folks, we spent hours reading on our shady deck by the community lawn area, watching golfers on the course. We took the lovely trees bordering the property for granted.
Later, we became good friends with the golf course owners, only to discover the course was not flourishing as it had in the past. It had been for sale for a while, and finally sold.
We condo owners knew our 27 trees were mingled with trees on the new owners’ property, most separated by only a few feet. We watched the trees being cut down in the main area in preparation of building almost 500 homes. Then, finally they began to remove the border trees. The property had been surveyed, and only their trees were removed.
We received a copy of their plans, promising a 20-foot border of trees and shrubs and vinyl fencing. Our property is listed as being in the far corner of Phase 2 of 3 phases. We think we are optimists, but we could not help but wonder if we would still be alive to see that develop in what we think now looks like a “war zone.”
The plans we received also noted they would also remove the roots of the trees they downed. That notice received our full attention, as we realized that action would jeopardize the stability of our remaining trees.
We met as a condo group to determine the fate of our trees. Those of us who were here recounted the terrible windy night in 2015. We expressed our opinion that our single row, root-compromised trees would probably not withstand another windstorm like that one. Indeed, we recently had another windstorm with life lost.
Our condo landscaper had reviewed our trees and determined that although only a few were diseased, the compromised roots made the remaining trees unsafe. As we sat in a circle and discussed the situation, our common sense dictated it was wise to remove our trees, too. We have good insurance to replace any damaged homes, but nothing would replace someone losing their life. That liability is perhaps among the reasons why all the border trees were cut down by the developers.
It was with heavy hearts we voted to remove them. Our caring home owners association president climbed on a ladder and took down the bird houses to be reclaimed by those who hung them. Plans ensued, and the trees were cut down and dragged away.
We try to be patient and optimistic, trying to visualize the lovely homes Spokane County needs and will soon have. We plan to plant some shade trees and life will go on. But we are still sad as we watch the squirrels running around hunting for their treetop homes.