Have you hugged a tree today?

Councilman, Richard Conlin, sends out a regular email newsletter which I receive and helps keep me up to speed on upcoming changes in the city. One issue that has been a hotbed of contention recently between homeowners, schools, and builders is trees. Read below for changes that are afoot:

PUBLIC COMMENT MEETING ON TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCEOn Monday, November 24, I introduced Council Bill 116404, an ordinance to implement interim tree protection regulations. The Council will hold a public comment meeting on this ordinance on Monday, December 15, at 5:30 PM, in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Related documents and the ordinance can be reviewed on the Council’s website:

This ordinance is intended to provide protection to trees during an interim period of six months to a year while the Council and Mayor develop a long-range program that combines regulations with incentives to preserve trees on private land. It sets specific thresholds for tree removal on residential and commercial lots, reinforces protections against removal of exceptional trees, adds groves of trees to the definition of exceptional trees, and establishes specific standards for issuing notices of violation and review and appeal processes.The draft Council ordinance prohibits removal of exceptional trees without documentation of a hazard or other specifically defined reason. It also limits the removal of all trees more than six inches in diameter to three trees per year, unless there is an approved development permit. Such permits would be issued after consideration of alternatives that would protect the trees. It also closes a loophole in the current code that allows the removal of trees by obtaining a building permit and then not constructing the permitted structure, by requiring property owners who remove trees under a building permit to proceed with the project within one year.Councilmembers recognize that this legislation imposes significant new restrictions on tree removal by property owners, and is likely to be controversial. Mature trees provide many critical ecosystem services, such as absorbing carbon dioxide and air pollutants, providing wildlife habitat, stabilizing soil, enhancing property value, and reducing storm water runoff. Our goal is to protect mature trees and minimize the loss of trees during the time it will take to develop a long term approach to tree protection and canopy restoration. In the interim, we want to ensure that property owners retain their ability to achieve their goals in managing their properties. The legislation is not intended to prevent development, but to set reasonable limits on how that development can affect Seattle’s declining numbers of mature trees, implementing our Comprehensive Plan goals of no net loss of tree canopy. We are actively seeking counsel from the public on whether this proposal meets these goals and appropriately balances the interests of property owners and trees. We welcome thoughts or ideas for amendments that would better achieve these ends.Some examples of places where tree issues are coming to a head is Maple Leaf where the old Camp Fire Girls site. A builder is putting in several new homes on the old children organization’s site and the surrounding neighbors went ballistic. A similar fight is going on at Ingraham High School in North Seattle where neighbors object to a small grove of trees being torn down so the school can build some much needed new classroom space.

While I love trees, I am divided when it comes to these 2 examples of neighbors fighting to save trees on land owned by others. I’m sure if the tables were turned the homeowners would claim “foul” on anyone trying to restrict the use of their own land. We need more in-city housing and large parcels, like this one in Maple Leaf, are hard to find any longer. Just because the mature trees are being taken out doesn’t mean that new trees can’t take their place. As for the school, Ingraham has been in need of additional space for quite some time and my guess is that the neighbors are being short sighted in this battle. There are plans for new landscaping for the school as part of this expansion and considering what the school looks like now, and the fighting neighbor’s houses for that matter, this will be a major upgrade and help local house values.

Anyhow, my comments above regarding my view on the matter may be inflammatory to some. Feel free to leave a comment!

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Have you hugged a tree today?

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Have you hugged a tree today?

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