Utility company asking to remove 18 trees on my property

[Ryan Judah]

Hello BP community - 

We just received a request from our local utility company asking for permission to remove (free of charge to us) 18 trees on our property that sit between our triplex and a busier street. The trees range from 7" to 30" diameter and are largely all douglas fir. They're requesting permission to remove them because they are "in the way of construction" on our property.

While we want to comply with their request, we're concerned about losing both privacy and the rentability of our units. Interested in getting feedback from the community here on questions you would ask the utility company, and other considerations to address before making a decision. 

Thank you!

[Theresa Harris]

Many of those are mature trees and serve as a sound barrier as well as provide privacy.  What are they offering to put in their place?  Once the construction is done, you can ask them to replant some larger trees to provide privacy.  Tell them what species you want (eg Douglas fir-go for a native species) and that if any die within the first 2 years, they must be replaced.