Residents are rallying to save the trees along Farmington's West State Street, a neighborhood of mostly historic older homes that date back to shortly after the city's founding.
More than 200 have signed petitions to save the ash trees, and 50 met Wednesday night with officials from the city's environmental committee and Utah Power.Utah Power wants to either prune or replace the trees, which tangle in power lines - especially during sieges of canyon winds - and contribute to power outages.
Residents would prefer the power lines be buried, the poles raised or the line moved. The trees contribute to the character of the neighborhood, which residents are working to have declared a National Historic Area.
Utah Power first proposed using a new style of trimming, called directional pruning, on the ash trees, which mature at up to 65 feet tall. Instead of the traditional pruning method of chopping off the top of the tree, directional pruning opens up a V- or L-shape around the power lines.
Two ash trees on the west end of State Street and two sycamores on the north end of Main Street were directionally pruned by Utah Power crews last month as a demonstration.
The City Council approved the new method for the Main Street sycamores but backed off approval for the ashes on State Street, preferring instead to get citizen input.
At Wednesday's meeting, Utah Power District Manager Steve Rush said the utility company has several options, ranging from pruning to replacing the trees over a five or six-year period with another variety that would not grow as tall and not need pruning at all.
Putting the power lines underground is not an attractive option, Rush said, estimating it could cost between $200,000 and $300,000. That cost would have to be borne by the residents or city under current Public Service Commission regulations, Rush said.
Replacing the 19 40-foot power poles that line the street's north side with 55-foot poles would cost around $700 per pole, Rush said, but still wouldn't solve the problem because the trees eventually will reach 65 feet.
One Utah Power proposal is to replace the trees with newer and smaller ones, phasing the new trees in over five to six years, Rush said. The utility would pay to take out the old trees and plant new ones, perhaps donated by the non-profit foundation Tree Utah.
Once planted, the trees would be maintained by residents or the city, Rush said.
Environmental Committee Chairman Ted Thatcher said a survey of the ash trees showed many of them are dying, the result of old age, disease from improper pruning, and roots being chopped off for sidewalk and driveway construction.
Some are in moderately good shape and a very few look healthy, Thatcher said.
After more than two hours of listing and discussing options, the committee and Utah Power agreed to do more detailed research on cost options and meet again in September for a review session.
The committee can take no action on its own but makes recommendations to the City Council.