Construction equipment for land clearing was brought onto the site of the future home of a new shopping center at High School Road and Highway 305 just before 9 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Access to ProBuild, a building materials store, was limited as workers in orange-safety vests and hand-held stop signs restricted traffic through the property where the shopping center will be built.

Visconsi, an Ohio-based development company, received a clearing permit last week from the city of Bainbridge Island. The company had hoped to begin the selective removal of trees Monday from the 8.14-acre site where the shopping center will be built, but the land instead became ground zero in a much publicized demonstration against Visconsi and the new shopping center.

The demonstration was led by Chiara D’Angelo, who climbed 70 feet up a Douglas fir on the property and camped out on a raised platform roped to the tree for two days. D’Angelo concluded her demonstration Tuesday night and left the property just before 9 p.m.

Visconsi officials could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday morning.