Pendleton Parks Director Dave Byrd says the community should dig deeper for a solution to keep trees growing downtown.

The Downtown Plan Implementation Steering Committee on Thursday brainstormed solutions to a tree problem Byrd addressed in a presentation, and will discuss them at their next meeting on August 16. Among the issues were difficulties giving trees adequate growth space with small sidewalks, poor maintenance and a lack of clarity about who is responsible for caring for them.

Byrd said after the meeting that while no trees are completely problem-free, its possible to select varieties which grow best in particular locales. He said his goal for the meeting was to urge the committee to agree that trees are beneficial to downtown.

Byrd said sidewalks are 10-feet-wide in most areas, which doesnt allow much room for trees to grow and causes roots to spread and crack the sidewalk. He said downtown merchants and building owners are often impatient with tree growth and prematurely prune them so they dont block second-story awning signage. These trees, which were selected and planted by a community coalition around 1997, may have grown properly if theyd been allowed to grow they way they were intended.

You dont plant the damn things and not look at them for 20 years, Byrd said. You can train them to do anything if you have the patience.

Solutions pitched by the committee ranged from taking trees out every 15 years, which Byrd cautioned against, to a suggestion from Alan Feves, downtown business owner, to create more space around the trees for roots and trunks to grow.

Byrd said keeping trees downtown is worth the effort. He said they offer shade and cool down buildings and sidewalks by blocking sunlight from reflecting off the pavement, and several studies have proven trees attract business.

They attract beauty, as well, said Karen Wagner. I mean its a life. Bugs like them, birds like them, we like them.

Byrd said building owners are responsible for maintaining the trees because they own the sidewalks in front of their storefronts or apartments, but anyone wishing to plant or remove one from that area must consult City Manager Robb Corbett.

City law requires homeowners to trim trees that hang over roads and disrupt traffic.

Contact Chris Rizer at crizer@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836.