Washington Cities Balance Housing Development and Tree Canopy

After Washington state passed sweeping zoning reforms to encourage more ‘missing middle’ and multifamily housing production, prompting new questions about sustainability and the conservation of the urban tree canopy, “Cities in Washington are working to give those trees more importance in their planning considerations, centering urban forestry in their community strategies,” writes Clifford Heberden in The Urbanist. 

According to Brennon Staley, Strategic Advisor for the Seattle’s Office and Planning and Community Development, “development in dense places like Seattle prevents further sprawl on the fringes, preserving more land and natural resources from development.” Seattle also signed on to the Tree Equity Collaborative, “a statewide partnership to achieve tree equity across the Evergreen State by expanding and fortifying neighborhood tree canopy cover.” If passed by the city council, the updated Urban Forest Protection Ordinance would require street trees with new residential developments and create new protections for existing trees.

In Bellingham, the city is working to balance the need for new housing with conservation with a new Urban Forestry Management Plan, slated for completion this summer. “Bellingham touts 40% tree cover within city limits, representing 7,252 acres of the diverse canopy. The goal is to maintain that percentage across the city.” Bellingham touts the benefits of its ‘urban villages,’ areas that encourage compact development and help preserve outlying green spaces. “Permit data as of March 2022 indicates a total of 2,800 housing units were added in Urban Villages, representing 40% of all new housing in Bellingham since 2006.”