The public had its first chance Thursday night to weigh in on a Vancouver Park Board plan to cut 70 trees in Queen Elizabeth Park to restore the once-sweeping views of downtown and the North Shore Mountains.

But the plan is not without opponents, including resident and activist Ned Jacobs, who encouraged the board to build a low viewing platform.

Jacobs admitted it wouldn't give a perfect view, but he told the board on Thursday night a platform would be better than toppling trees.

"You would see the entire downtown peninsula. You'd see the Georgia Strait. You'd see up the valley. You could even see Mount Baker, weather permitting. It's not quite 360-degree views, but it's far better than cutting down the trees," said Jacob.

But local architect Ron Pears told CBC News on Thursday he supports restoring the view by cutting the trees.

"This is not a wilderness park. It's an urban park and as an urban park it has to fulfil a number of objectives, and those objectives include what kind of public good should it provide," said Pears.

"As Queen Elizabeth Park, it provides a lot. There's golf, picnicking and weddings and the restaurant — many things up there. But one of the things is the viewpoint, the best viewpoint in the city of Vancouver," said Pears.

Queen Elizabeth Park is the highest point in the city at 153 metres above sea level and was until recently a popular viewpoint. But according to the park board, in recent years, the trees have largely obstructed the views to the downtown core.

Under the proposal, none of the trees slated for cutting are rare or endangered species, and all would be replaced in other areas of the park at a ratio of two to one, said staff.

A biologist would be retained to identify nesting trees, and removal of such trees would be delayed to minimize impact to nesting animals, according to park board staff, who estimated the whole plan would cost of around $21,000.