First Central Station’s central courtyard (Image: First Central Station)
The Seattle City Council approved new tree protections in the city Tuesday after more than a decade of debate stacked up a Loraxian level of legislation in the sprawling, many-branched bill.
The new ordinance expands protections to a total of 175,000 trees across Seattle, creates a 4-tier system to categorize trees, establishes a mandate requiring new developments to include street trees, increases penalties for illegal street cutting, expands Seattle Public Utilities’ Trees for Neighborhoods Program, creates additional penalties for unregistered tree service providers, requires trees to be replaced onsite if they’re removed for development or a fee be paid to plant and maintain trees in under-treed areas, increases street tree requirements for developments in neighborhood residential zones, addresses the lack of trees in historically underserved communities through the establishment of a payment in-lieu program, significantly restricts tree removals on Neighborhood Residential lots, and establishes “clear and consistent” parameters for tree protection standards.
The council Tuesday passed the legislation 6-1 with only NE Seattle rep Alex Pedersen opposing the passage after he failed to convince fellow councilmembers to delay their vote until June to give advocates more time to further shape the ordinance. District 3 representative Kshama Sawant was not present for the vote.
More time could have possibly brought further pruning of the sprawling bill — but it also could have added yet more overgrowth to the legislation. CHS reported here way back in 2018 on the debate around the update to the tree ordinance as the council sought rules to both protect the urban canopy and keep much needed housing development on track. In the years between, the debate — and the proposed legislation — had only grown. Earlier this month, a council committee pruned its way through more than 50 proposed amendments to the bill.
Officials said the new rules create incentives and code flexibility “to better protect trees, include more trees in the regulations, plant / replace more trees, and establish a payment in-lieu program to provide flexibility for tree replacement and address racial inequities and environmental justice disparities, amongst other changes.”
The new ordinance expands protections to trees 24 inches in diameter or wider, and requires replacement of felled trees with new trees of equal canopy. If replacement is not possible, property owners and developers may pay into a central fund. The new regulations will also designate “heritage trees” that can’t be removed unless deemed hazardous.
Development and affordability advocates have criticized the expanded rules saying increased tree preservation can slow the permitting and design review process and add unnecessary costs in a city facing an ongoing housing crisis.
The city’s current tree preservation regulations were developed in 2009. Along the path to forming the new regulations, the city also had to overcome a Hearing Examiner challenge in 2022.
The bill is supported by the Sierra Club Seattle, Habitat for Humanity and the Housing Development Consortium of Seattle-King County, while the Seattle Urban Forestry Commission, Beacon Hill Council, and Birds Connect Seattle, previously Seattle Audubon, had also asked for a delay in voting, the Seattle Times reports.
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