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Kelly Martin, a local property owner and landlord, was notified by the City of Eureka’s Code Enforcement Division years ago that he needed to do something about the sidewalk in front of his property on the corner of Third and I streets in Eureka, but he really hoped he wouldn’t have to cut down the big, beautiful tree whose roots were responsible for cracking the cement and lifting it up in big, jagged slabs.

Alas, after consulting with an engineer in a fruitless attempt to find an alternative, Martin concluded that the towering Monterey Pine — which he estimated to be about 60 years old — would have to come down.

“It started lifting up the sidewalk, becoming unsafe,” Martin told the Outpost on Monday afternoon, raising his voice to be heard above whirring motor of a mini excavator maneuvering the big logs piled onsite. “So I’ve got to rebuild the sidewalk too.”

Martin, whose family history in Humboldt County goes back five generations, said he took down the tree himself with help from family members and friends, including a 70-year-old high school buddy named Eric Shots. 

Describing Shots as “the only tree topper in town who would touch this thing,” Martin said, “He’s the best in the country” at this type of work. 

Eureka City Manager Miles Slattery confirmed that Martin had been on notice for a long time about the need to address the broken and uplifted sidewalk, which is a liability for the city. 

“We’ve had more trip-and-fall uplift [legal] claims [against the city this year] than we’ve ever had in the 20 years that I’ve been here,” Slattery said. He explained that artificial intelligence has made it easier for predatory, out-of-town law firms to file such claims against public agencies throughout the state. 

The city recently sent Martin another notice, telling him the hazard needed to be addressed. “If we don’t follow up on that [kind of thing], it extends our liability,” Slattery said. 

Here’s what the tree looked like before it was cut down:

Martin said he was sad about having to remove the tree, which he judged to be the largest left in Old Town. But it had to be done. Next, he said, he’ll figure out a way to rebuild the sidewalk and then fix up the green house that sat behind the tree. It has fallen into disrepair in recent years was lately occupied by unhoused squatters, some of whom had broken windows, Martin said.

As motorists and pedestrians moved through the scene Monday afternoon, they ogled the massive lengths of felled trunk and stacks of branches. Some called out friendly greetings to Martin as they passed. One woman stopped briefly and took a long look at all the wooden debris.

“I walked past this tree every day,” she said.