Highland Park homeowners sue St. Paul over construction project

A canopy of mature, leafy trees covers Edgcumbe Road in St. Paul. Walkers and runners are shielded by its shade on a grassy median in the middle of the street, while bicyclists cruise down either side among few cars.

But residents worry that a city construction project slated to add sidewalks and rip out mature trees could change the idyllic feel of the neighborhood, and they are trying to put a stop to it.

Edgcumbe Road homeowners have filed a lawsuit seeking a restraining order on work that they contend will disturb the beauty of their Highland neighborhood as well as harm the environment.

The street reconstruction project, phase two of the Griggs-Scheffer paving project, includes replacing underground water and sewer pipes, redoing pavement and adding sidewalks and young boulevard trees, according to the project web page.

The suit alleges the project could "result in the destruction of natural resources, including mature trees, the animals that make their home there, as well as the air, water, land, soil, quietude and scenic and aesthetic resources those natural resources support."

Edgcumbe, a parkway that connects to Highland Park, has never had sidewalks and is lightly traveled, said residents Mark Wingerd and Joe Sarakaitis, who are plaintiffs in the suit against the city.

Edgcumbe neighbors fear the construction could hurt mature trees' root systems, estimating that between 75 and 80 large trees and 25 to 30 smaller trees could be affected.

"Most of our homes have been here for 80 years without sidewalks. The trees have been planted in such a way that we're going to lose extensive trees," Wingerd said.

But adding sidewalks to streets that do not have them has been part of city planning for years, said St. Paul City Council Member Chris Tolbert, who represents the area.

The sidewalk construction will be located on the city's right of way, not on private property, said public works information officer Lisa Hiebert.

The sidewalk will meander around existing trees. New sidewalk is often at the edge of the city's public right of way, close to the property line, but in this case the city was able to move the sidewalk closer to the street, Hiebert said. Ash trees would have been removed due to emerald ash borer risk anyway, she said.

Plaintiffs point out that the opposition from residents is strong though: Of the 25 homeowners on the three block stretch of Edgcumbe Road at the focus of the lawsuit — between Highland Parkway and Hamline Avenue — one was neutral, two were moving, and everyone else was against the project, Wingerd said.

Sarakaitis and Wingerd had an arborist come out who told them that any tree within 25 feet of the sidewalk would likely die from root damage.

New boulevard trees will be planted in spring 2022, adding to the area's net number of trees, according to the city.

Residents say those young trees simply won't replace the ones that will be lost — many planted trees when their children were born or have other personal connections to the trees.

"We just really think there's a way that the city can accomplish its goal without devastating the character of the neighborhood," Sarakaitis said.

Sarakaitis and Wingerd have been meeting with the city since 2019 to work on alternatives, they said.

They hired a landscape architect to work on another option that would reduce the size of the median by five feet, potentially affecting fewer trees.

But they said meetings with city engineers were unsuccessful.

"We just didn't really understand why they wouldn't work with us a little bit to find a better solution, especially when there's clearly a focus in St. Paul on maintaining the tree cover," Sarakaitis said.

Tolbert can relate to headaches about construction — his neighborhood was part of the first phase of the project. Edgcumbe is not a particular target — its simply their turn, Tolbert said.

Underground pipe replacement work has been planned for years, he said.

"Part of our complete street policy is, where we can, we add sidewalks," Tolbert said. "And so that's most residential streets and it's a pretty big exception not to get sidewalks."

Reconstruction projects generally bring a lot of questions, but it often comes down to some people really wanting sidewalks, and others not wanting them at all, Tolbert said.

"I think part of living in a city is having an accessible, pedestrian-friendly walkable neighborhood, both for safety purposes as well as for recreational purposes," Tolbert said.

The project was scheduled to start this summer, but is facing delays. Public works leaders are unsure when construction will begin.

Sarakaitis and Wingerd hope that an injunction will halt the project for good or until both sides agree upon an alternative.

"There's all sorts of places in the city where people are begging them for new sidewalks and things," Wingerd said.

"You don't have too many neighbors that say, 'Don't do something in my neighborhood. Don't do it, we don't want it.' "