Near the northeast edge of Como Lake, four residents on a single block of Parkview Avenue have banded together to file an emergency injunction against the city of St. Paul.

Their goal? Stopping the city from tearing down 13 mature trees on Monday morning.

In their legal filing, homeowners Rita Amendola, Mary Jane Sommerville, Aric Wilber and Jeff Clark maintain they were assured by the city that it would “would do everything possible to preserve neighborhood trees” as it pursued sidewalk improvements for the Wheelock-Grotto street reconstruction project this year and next.

The homeowners said they were told “meandering” new sidewalks will be built around some 20 mature trees on their block as an alternative to tree removal.

Instead, on March 17, they were taken aback to find that 13 of the 20 trees had been marked with a red X for removal, with the designated removal date being March 24. The four homeowners filed their request for a temporary restraining order against tree removal in Ramsey County District Court on Thursday, and the case was assigned to Judge Edward Sheu on Friday.

The request for a temporary injunction, which was filed by an attorney with Madia Law, cites emergency legal protections for public resources under the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act, and notes that the city has yet to solicit bids for the sidewalk reconstruction or hold a public hearing on the work, making the haste in removing trees unnecessary.

On Friday evening, a spokesperson for St. Paul Public Works said the contractor had been instructed not to remove any trees on Monday.

In an interview Thursday, Sommerville said residents worked closely with the city to plan for weeks, if not months, for tree preservation. The city indicated it needed to update sidewalks to keep up with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

“We said, we understand that, but could you just do one side of the street?” Sommerville said. “They said OK. And then the city came out and marked every single old growth tree with a big red X for removal.”

A city forester came out Thursday to inspect the site, and some 20 residents in the area urged the staffer to hold off on tree removal, she said. The injunction request notes the city council recently considered new rules surrounding tree preservation and replacement during public projects, but put final consideration on hold for six months for fine-tuning.

The neighborhood street reconstruction project spans sections of streets around East Como Boulevard, Arlington Avenue, Dale Street and Maryland Avenue and is scheduled to roll out this year and next. A June 2024 notice to residents indicates the project is intended to improve street pavement, curb and gutter, street lighting, sidewalks, water mains and storm sewers, as well as improve pedestrian safety by filling in missing sidewalk gaps.