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Edmonds construction project stopped after native plants destroyed

A North Sound city project has come to an immediate halt after environmentalists say work crews destroyed native plants, many beyond repair.

The city of Edmonds was putting in lights along a sidewalk off Highway 104 right near a volunteer-run garden.

Nancy Moore and Susie Schaefer have spent nearly 10 years putting their hands and their hearts into the demonstration garden off Highway 104 on Pine Street.

It’s near a fish hatchery, full of wildlife, and native plants.

When they discovered parts of their hard work cut away or removed to make way for three street lights, they were devastated.

“Well, I think the first thing this reminds me of is vandalism and inexperience in working with plants,” Moore said as she walked through the damaged areas.

“This is not OK. Our plants were basically massacred — that’s the only word I can use. Some of them are beyond revegetation,” agreed Schaefer.

Schaefer called the Edmonds City Council and got the project on Tuesday night’s agenda.

Councilmembers voted to shut it down immediately.

“This is the type of thing that happens once in a while. We’ll sort it out,” said Phil Williams, the Director of Public Works in Edmonds and the head of the project.

He said he too appreciates the garden and his team was doing things by the book to protect it while installing citizen-driven safety measures.

“A request for citizens to put lighting here on the sidewalk to make the intersection with the highway safer for them when they’re walking,” he said of the reason behind the project.

It was approved last November and Williams says he wasn’t told of any objections.

“I don’t think we had much of an opportunity to explain it to them, to communicate with them, nor did I really realize what a vocal audience we have here and how much information they might want.”

What Moore and Schaefer say they now want is to be a part of the project, to help crews do their job with preservation in mind so some of the fruits of their labor can still be saved.

The project likely will continue and the public works director said he too wants to work with the volunteers to come up with a compromise -- possibly less invasive lights like LEDs.