A half dozen trees were cut down on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to make room for a weekend house moving project, upsetting some Northeast Portland neighbors are upset.

The city forester says a private company obtained a permit to remove the trees and has already paid to have them replaced.

That's little comfort to disappointed neighbors.

“Are you kidding? To move something down the street? That's ridiculous, “ said neighbor Iris Nason.

Over the weekend, six stumps were left behind on the boulevard after a very large house was relocated. It was a planned move.

The house was so wide it needed extra wiggle room. The trees removed were young and stood about 15 feet high.

Next door neighbors were surprised to see them cut down.

“Made me really sad actually. (I) teared up a bit,” said witness Hans Wilson.

City forester David McAllister says the work was all above board. He does regret neighbors weren't better informed.

“It's possible that we should have been more in an outreach program with the neighborhood,” he said.

McAllister says there are many other trees missing along the boulevard.

But almost all of those were knocked down by passing cars in recent years.

New trees should be in place by fall or winter.