On the same night last week that the council approved the project, it denied the tree-removal permit. As a result, both the developer and the Northwest Gresham Neighborhood Association are appealing the council's decision, albeit for different reasons. APM is appealing the decision to deny the permit, and the Northwest Gresham Neighborhood Association is appealing the entire project's approval. The issue now is headed to a hearings officer to sort out. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 26.

At issue is APM's 12.5-acre development site, east of Wallula Avenue between Division Street and the light-rail tracks. It contains around 1,000 trees, some 400 of which are significant enough that removal is regulated by city code. The city determined that APM's tree-removal plan amounted to a clear-cut under its rules, which require a "mitigation plan" for such an action, says city planner David Krogh.

"They did not provide the plan, so we had no choice but to deny that specific permit application (despite approving the project as a whole) because a mitigation plan is too discretionary to allow as a condition of approval," Krogh tells GlobeSt. "It's one of those situations where it's almost a no win; we're caught in the middle of a developer and concerned neighbors both trying to protect their rights."

In an effort to placate the Northwest Gresham Neighborhood Association, APM is meeting with the association next Tuesday. In an effort to appease the city, APM is reportedly planning to arrive at its appeal hearing with a mitigation plan in hand that includes tree preservation, just in case its argument doesn't sway the hearings examiner.

Meantime, the Northwest Gresham Neighborhood Association is hoping its appeal kills the project altogether. The association is contending that because the developer's proposal didn't fully evaluate the effect of a clear-cut, the project's design, density and parking space requirements are still all at issue.