Watergate residents have said they’re willing to put their money where their mouth is and will pay the National Park Service to remove trees the agency planted more than a year ago.
The residents and one of the building owners were fighting the sycamore trees, saying they would eventually grow so tall and wide they would block views of the water and reduce Watergate property values.
The issue made its way to the National Capital Planning Commission, which ruled Thursday the park service should replace the trees with a shorter variety and replant the sycamores, provided the residents cover the costs.
Liz Sara, head of the Watergate South board of directors, said Friday that residents were “delighted” by the ruling and are confident they can work out a solution with the park service.
“We stand ready to pay for the removal of the currently planted sycamores and replace that 100 foot variety with a shorter variety,” she said.
The park service had contended a Rock Creek Parkway plan created in the 1930s called for sycamore trees to be maintained along the Georgetown and Foggy Bottom waterfront. The original trees were ripped out in the 1960s when the Watergate was being built.
