Two short stories about trees and views in Admiral – only related in that both involve Seattle Parks land:

ILLEGAL TREE-CUTTING, AGAIN: A reader tip led us to that freshly cut slope along Ferry SW in North Admiral, uphill from Harbor SW, on Monday. There we found a Parks employee who confirmed that they had filed a police report because it was unauthorized tree-cutting on public land. This morning, we followed up with Parks spokesperson Rachel Schulkin, who says the department knows which tree-cutting company was responsible and that the company told Parks it was hired by homeowners to improve their views. The case, she said, will be referred to the City Attorney’s Office. Schulkin didn’t have specifics on how many trees or how much area was affected.

We had a second reason to talk with her – a late-night discovery related to this:

(WSB photo from last month)

ADMIRAL WAY VIEWPOINT CHANGE OF HEART: Last month, after multiple reader questions, we inquired with Parks about whether there were plans to restore the view at Admiral Way Viewpoint. As reported in this story, we were told at the time that Parks was re-assessing its policies first. Then late last night we noticed “no parking” signs at the viewpoint – technically part of Belvedere Park – and while the signs said only that “construction” would be happening Thursday and Friday, the contact number was for an arborist at Parks. The arborist pointed us to Schulkin, who said that Parks has had a change of heart and will be trimming the viewpoint trees. But first, the work for which the signage is in place – set to start Thursday – will involve mowing the blackberries and other shrubbery so Parks staff can get a closer look and make a trimming plan.