Seattle's housing boom hit a sore spot in Maple Leaf, where the former Waldo General Hospital/Camp Fire USA site is being sold to make room for some 40 homes.

Many local residents are upset over the change, but they're not so upset about what's coming in as they are about what's going out.

About 100 concerned residents gathered at Olympic View Elementary School on Wednesday to listen to representatives from Prescott Development. The community invited the developers to talk about their plans.

The residents wanted to know what the building might look like and, more importantly, what the developers planned to do to the trees on the property.

"We'd like to save trees as much as we can. It's very expensive site, so we need to develop intensively and it's zoned multi-family," said Michael Luis with Prescott Development.

The residents didn't get the answer they wanted to hear. The grove of trees is unique to Maple Leaf.

"This is not just your individual tree. This is a grove that's 80 years old. Bald eagles roost in them," said Charlie Raines, one resident.

Raines says chopping down the grove to build goes against Seattle's 'going green initiative' led by the mayor.

"We're asking that the city look at alternatives and require the developer to look at alternatives. And let's see if we can meet both the goals of saving the grove of trees and provide housing for our city."

Developers say they're willing to sell the grove for $2 million and simply build around it, but that does little to comfort some neighbors.

"I hate to give up and I'm not, but i've yet to see anything actually stop a development in this town for a tree or traffic or for any other concerns the neighborhood has," said Lisa Weiner, a resident.

Residents also wanted to know what sort of impact the development would have on the area traffic and parking availability. But developers say they're still in the early stages of planning, and haven't worked out all the details yet.