To cries of "shame, shame, shame" from some in the crowd, four NPA park commissioners voted last night in favour of a staff recommendation to remove 70 trees from Queen Elizabeth Park.

The four who voted for the motion at the  Killarney Community Centre  were chair Korina Houghton and her NPA colleagues Heather Holden, Ian Robertson, and Marty Zlotnik.

Independent commissioner Al De Genova and COPE commissioner Loretta Woodcock voted against the staff recommendation.

The staff report stated that the trees needed to be cut down to restore views of the city from the park, which is the highest point in Vancouver at 153 metres above sea level.

The trees range from six to 18 metres tall. A staff report claimed that about a third of the trees slated for removal are in poor condition.

Before the vote, several speakers said the trees were more important to them  than the views, and they questioned the validity of a Synovate telephone poll that showed  52 percent of respondents favoured the plan.

The park board has promised to replace the trees on a 2-1 basis in other areas of the park.

The park board has not released the questions that were asked in the poll of 500 Lower Mainland residents.

One speaker, Ned Jacobs, told the commissioners that it was "deplorable" for the board to allow the trees to be removed when they have shielded the flower gardens and place from wind, healed the wounds inflicted by snow, and developed character and charm.

The Georgia Straight has previously reported that Jacobs is a park-board employee who  works in Queen Elizabeth Park. He lives in the Riley Park area.

Jacobs  told the commissioners that even by removing some of the trees as part of the plan, the view corridors will continue to be obstructed by a magnificent cedar grove, which stands behind those slated to be chopped down.

The Georgia Straight will have more on this story in its printed edition, which will be distributed across Metro Vancouver on Thursday (July 17).