Seattle Revamping its Tree Ordinance

The Seattle City Council recently launched a process to update the city's Tree Ordinance as the city's ongoing development boom has visibly diminished tree coverage in parts of the city, according to an article by Stephen Fesler.

Ideas for tree preservation currently under consideration include requiring tree removal permits, implementing a mitigation fee for tree removal, and expanding tree planting requirements for development in single-family and Residential Small Lot (RSL) zones. Fesler examines each of these policy ideas, and more in the article.

As for next steps, the "framework" for updating the city's Tree Ordinance is at very early stages in the City Council approval process. Fesler expects the Tree ordinance to be vetted and refined in the next few months.