The plan for a new west entrance at the Woodland Park Zoo, which received a master use permit for the project in late March, has raised concerns with one community leader.

Irene Wall, Phinney Ridge Community Council president, said the project will cause the removal of mature, healthy trees for a tchotchke store and a lot of pavement.

The new west entrance would add guest amenities, including retail, and a paved and landscaped pathway from the old north entrance, which would be removed, to the new entrance, according to a zoo press release.

David Schaefer, director of public affairs for the zoo, said 14 trees will be removed for the project, but will be replaced with 70 smaller trees.

The area affected by the project is a combination of old turf and asphalt that is not used by the zoo for formal vegetation, and significant landscaping with the project will create green space, he said.

The Seattle Department of Planning and Development considered the impact of the planned paving and found that the project includes measures, such as a central on-site infiltration and detention system, that meets stormwater grading and drainage control codes, department spokesperson Bryan Stevens said.

Schaefer said the drainage system should prevent any rainwater runoff.

Wall said the zoo is being let off the hook.

“It’s disappointing that the (planning department) treats the Woodland Park Zoo differently than any other park,” she said.

She said she wants to know why the zoo could not spend the money for the project on something that furthers its goals of preserving endangered species and increasing awareness of nature.

The budget for the project is $7 million, which includes design and administration as well as construction, Schaefer said. He said the money for the new entrance was raised privately expressly for the project and is not taking money away from anything else in the zoo.

“It is arguable that you should used this money to save an endangered species,” he said. “But, you need the basic zoo infrastructure to really accomplish that. We’re not failing to carry out the mission of the zoo in any way.”

As an example, Schaefer pointed to last year’s new flamingo habitat, this year’s new penguin enclosure and a planned new animal exhibit next year.

Wall filed an appeal against the project but dropped it in February because it would have been an uphill battle she couldn’t sustain due to personal circumstances in her life, she said.

The new entrance is meant to reduce wait times at the zoo, according to the press release. Schaefer said there are approximately 100 days per year when the zoo gets especially crowded, causing wait times of more than 30 minutes.

The new west entrance, part of the Long-Range Physical Development Plan passed by the Seattle City Council in 2004, is scheduled to open in 2010.