How do you move a 40-plus-year-old palm tree? Carefully.

The palm tree that greeted visitors to Sequim’s City Hall for more years than many city staffers can recall has a new home … directly across the street.

On March 29, thanks to the efforts of Knut Orloff of Big Trees of Sequim, property owners Kevin Bell and Lee Cowan moved the tree from the old city hall lot at 152 W. Cedar St. to a lot across the street at 153 W. Cedar St.

Using a tree transplanter truck, Orloff and Bell and horticulturist Ian Barclay removed the palm, roots and all, from the building that’s soon-to-be demolished in order to make room for construction of Sequim’s new Civic Center, set for completion in 2015.

Barclay, owner of The Desert Northwest — a Sequim specialty nursery producing and promoting plants adapted to the Northwest’s dry summer — said the palm has a relatively shallow root system, making it relatively easier to move than other kinds of trees.

“This is where this historic tree belongs, overlooking the new Civic Center with easy access for pedestrians,” Bell said. “I think it needs a plaque so that its story won’t be lost.”

Big Trees of Sequim owner Doug Monk donated his company’s services for the move.