The April 14, 2026, Normandy Park City Council meeting centered on the city’s identity as a proactive Tree City, navigating the delicate balance between celebrating historic trees and managing public safety.

From the heartwarming induction of six new giants into the Heritage Tree Program to a split vote on a bid to remove hazardous trees at City Hall Park, the session highlighted the complexities of maintaining the city’s vital tree canopy.

The council also looked toward the future of local sustainability with updates on the upcoming Arbor Day Celebration and a progress report on the city’s waste diversion efforts.

New Heritage Trees

Normandy Park community members have recently added six new trees to the Heritage Tree Program. The city has 842 acres of tree canopy, making up 52% of its total 1,595 acres. The Heritage Tree Program was created in order to celebrate particularly significant and beautiful trees, as well as to raise awareness, promote, and protect trees.

With the addition of the six new trees, the program now has eleven official heritage trees. One pair of trees was planted by the property owner when he was 8 years old, in 1964. Another is a 114 foot tall redwood. A map of where these trees are located, along with photos, can be found at the above link. The link also contains information on the application process for heritage tree designation, and a way to contact staff with any questions about the program.

Bid Approved For Hazard Tree Removal

Unfortunately, not all trees can be saved. After careful study and discussion, both city staff and the Parks Commission have agreed that five hazardous trees need to be removed at City Hall Park. The trees were topped decades ago, a practice that leaves trees dangerously imbalanced. The trees have been found to drop large branches, particularly during spring and fall.

Councilmembers Susan West and Shawn McEvoy voted no on this bid approval. Councilmember McEvoy said there just was not enough evidence to justify removing all five mature trees. Councilmember West said she would have supported removing just the most problematic tree, and then heavily pruning the remaining four.

Councilmember Jack Lamanna, however, said his family was present when one of the trees dropped a giant branch. He is very aware of the reality of how hazardous those branches can be in the popular and often crowded parking area.

The bid, which includes tree removal and stump grinding, is for $12,574. Work will take place as early as next week to get ahead of spring branch shedding. The work will involve temporary closure of the parking lot as well as possibly closing one lane of traffic. New trees will be selected in the future to replace those removed.

Arbor Day Celebration

The city’s upcoming Arbor Day Celebration is an opportunity for the community to receive their own young trees to plant. Free trees will be given away, along with compost, on Saturday April 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition, the event will have an Ask The Arborist booth, where info can be obtained from the experts on best practices for planting those free trees. The event will also feature crafts led by girl scouts, and a book exchange hosted by Waste Management.

Waste Management Presentation

Representatives from Waste Management gave their annual presentation on services provided to residents. The company is contracted through 2030 for garbage, recycling, and compost collection. In addition to picking up household waste, they also educate the community about waste reduction and collection through outreach at local events.

Waste Management will have a booth at six events in 2025, including the upcoming Arbor Day Celebration, as well as Mardi Gras, Music in the Park, the Fall Frolic, Winterfest, and the Solstice Soiree. In addition to hosting the Arbor Day book exchange, they will host a costume exchange in the fall and a holiday decoration exchange near the end of the year.

The aim is to reduce items going to the landfill, and improvements have been made in this area. In 2025, more than half of the city’s solid waste was diverted from landfills, and either recycled or composted, an increase of over 1% from the prior year. 60.5% of single-family residential waste is either composted or recycled. For commercial and multifamily residential customers, those numbers could still be improved, with only 21.1% and 14% diversion rates, respectively.