Longmont plans to proceed on Monday to remove the cottonwood tree in the 400 block of Pratt Street that had drawn some neighbors’ complaints about the cotton it sheds..

A Boulder District Court judge ruled on March 22 that Longmont owns the tree that the homeowners had planted in the city’s right-of-way 38 years ago, and that the city has the right to remove it.

Barricades are expected to be put in the street near the tree this weekend, and the 400 block of Pratt Street will be closed to through traffic beginning at 7 a.m. Monday and continuing through that afternoon as the 60-foot cottonwood is cut down.

City spokesman Rigo Leal said on Thursday that once that tree is removed, the site will be prepared for the city to plant a replacement. Officials have said it will be a 25-foot, non-cotton-bearing cottonwood.

That new tree may be planted by the end of next week, weather permitting, Leal said.

Kent and Patty McDonald planted the original cottonwood in 1979, and they, their children and a number of supporters fought unsuccessfully to block its removal and replacement.

To read more about the cottonwood, visit timescall.com