Seattle, WA: Urban tree protection
Policy Title: Ordinance 126821 (2023 Tree Protection Ordinance)
Year Adopted: 2023
City: Seattle, WA
Main Citation: Ordinance 126821
Description:
As a result of the Office of Sustainability and Environment’s 2021 Tree Canopy Assessment, which explored patterns of gradual and inequitable canopy and recent heat waves, the City of Seattle moved to enact a more robust Tree Protection Ordinance. The ordinance was also a response to House Bill 1110, requiring the city to increase its development capacity by allowing for more housing in Neighborhood Residential zones (previously Single-family zones).
Ordinance 126821 officially went into effect July 30, 2023, for all trees on private property, described as a “comprehensive approach to preserving, protecting, and expanding Seattle’s urban canopy” while allowing for the development of critical housing stock in the city. This legislation aligns with the One Seattle Comprehensive Plan to help the city progress on climate goals, homelessness efforts, and housing affordability. The Ordinance includes several important updates from the previous code:
Increases penalties for illegal street cutting and for unregistered tree service providers.
Facilitates tree protection efforts by granting flexibility for certain development standards.
Creates stricter in-lieu fees for developers when they opt not to replace a tree to fund tree planting and maintenance in historically underserved communities.
Creates replacement-or-fee requirements for smaller trees.
Councilmember Dan Strauss, Chair of the city's Land Use Committee, hopes that the ordinance will “safeguard our urban canopy, combat climate change, and create a more sustainable future for the Emerald City,” in addition to helping the city reach its 30 percent tree canopy goals by 2037.
Impact:
Although no official impact assessment for the Ordinance exists at this time, controversy around the ordinance suggests that these changes may be detrimental to the city’s forests. The ordinance was opposed by many tree-protection advocates, neighborhood groups, and the city’s Heritage Tree Committee, with concerns about loosened regulations for developers. The ordinance was largely shaped by the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBAKS), influencing the creation of the Tree Fund and other changes.
Early data has shown a loss of over 600 significant trees in the first few months of 2024. Permits demonstrated that 67 exceptional trees were removed specifically for development. The impacts of this legislation must be monitored in the years to come to determine the full extent of its influence on both housing stock, canopy coverage, and equity.
Additional Resources:
“How developers helped shape Seattle’s controversial tree protection ordinance”
“Seattle’s tree ordinance is endangering trees”
“Op-Ed: Correcting the Narrative about Seattle’s Tree Ordinance”