Category Archives: urban trees

What’s next for Seattle’s Tree Ordinance Update?

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The Seattle City Council heeded public input and has decided to slow down their rush to update SMC 25.11 – Seattle’s Tree Protection Ordinance by the end of September. This will give more time for public input and scrutiny. The public needs to continue to send in their concerns and suggestions on how to make the ordinance more effective. The Seattle City Council and the Mayor are currently focused this month and next month on adopting their 2019 Budget. They will again take up the Tree Protection Ordinance after the Budget is adopted.

You can help us get a stronger ordinance by continuing to contact the Mayor and the Seattle City Council with your concerns and suggestions. Their e-mails are:

jenny.durkan@seattle.gov and Council@seattle.gov

Below are our  suggestions  of changes needed in the current draft they are working with labeled as version D7 that we believe would significantly strengthen the draft ordinance.

Continue reading →

Movement forward on Updating Seattle’s Tree Protection Ordinance – April Action

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Letter requesting organizations

to join Coalition for a Stronger Tree Ordinance

Seattle City Councilmember Rob Johnson has introduced a framework to update Seattle’s current Tree Ordinance.  This is something many citizens and organizations have been urging for almost 10 years.
We would like your organization to join with us and others to strengthen our coalition effort to coordinate and carry out a focused effort to update our outdated tree ordinance, last passed in 2009 as an “interim ordinance”. Continue reading →

TreePAC Endorsements for the Nov. 7, 2017 General Election Ballot

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TreePAC endorses candidates
for 2017 General Election

POSITION         Link to Candidate Websites

Seattle Mayor – Jenny Durkan and Cary Moon

Seattle City Attorney – Pete Holmes

Seattle City Council Position #8 – Jon Grant

Seattle City Council Position #8 – Teresa Mosqueda

Seattle City Council Position #9- Pat Marakami

Seattle Port Commission Position #1 – John Creighton

Seattle Port Commission Position Position #3 – Stephanie Bowman

Seattle Port Commission Position #4 – Peter Steinbrueck

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE TREEPAC CANIDIDATE FORUM VIDEOS

CLICK HERE TO SEE 2017 GENERAL ELECTION SEATTLE CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRES RECEIVED

Seattle Mayor Tim Burgess Signs Executive Order to Increase Tree Protection

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From This Week in the Mayor’s Office – Oct 13, 2017

 Protecting Seattle’s Tree Canopy

Mayor Burgess signed an Executive Order focused on strengthening Seattle’s protections for trees on private property today. The order directs the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections to better implement existing tree regulations through:

• Strengthening the existing regulations through new and updated Director’s Rules;

• Increasing penalties for illegal tree cutting; and

• Developing a fee-in-lieu program to mitigate tree loss

Further, the order asks City staff to explore how Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) policies could support Seattle’s urban forestry goals.

“Seattle’s tree canopy is a treasure that provides critical health and economic benefits to our city,” said Mayor Burgess. “It must be protected, nurtured, and expanded. As we grow as a city, we must also grow our commitment to be good stewards of our urban forest.”

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TreePAC recommendation – Thank Mayor Burgess for his action and urge the Seattle City Council to strengthen this effort by updating the interim Tree Ordinance passed in 2009  which is still awaiting action by the City Council. They need to hear from concerned citizens.  

As Development Booms, Seattle Gives Up On Green Space

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By Adiel Kaplan and Investigate West, Seattle Weekly, June 22, 2016

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So-called pavement parks are a growing trend in major American cities and they’re one of the new ways Seattle is looking to increase open space without spending billions

From atop a steep slope above Myers Way in West Seattle, Cass Turnbull peers over a tangle of blackberry bushes. Her perch affords her an exceptional view of the distant Cascades. But her gaze fixes instead on the island of undeveloped acreage more than 100 feet below the blackberries.

“My dream for this area is a nature play area,” Turnbull says, noting the wetlands, slopes, forests, fields and creek below. Her vision: “Kids get to interact with nature and explore.”

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No room for trees in Seattle’s new parks

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By Mark Hinshaw – Crosscut, April 26, 2016.

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Ellen Sollod’s “Cloud Veil” at 12th Avenue Square Park. Credit: Seattle Parks & Recreation Credit: Alex Garland

Forget what you think you know about green Seattle parks. A new park just south of Seattle University shows us an important aspect of the future in a more densely developed city.
The recently opened 12th Avenue Square Park is the sort of open space we will likely see more often. It is more like a piazza, surrounded by development — both older and newer, with more buildings to come.<–more–>  Continue reading →

As city booms, leafy giants at risk

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Gabi_0107_BrooklynAve_1

Sketched Jan. 6, 2016

A seven-story apartment building is planned for this Northeast Seattle lot. The house is in disrepair, but the property also includes a couple of sizeable trees that stand out at an intersection laced with parking lots.

I assume they’ll be cut when the house is torn down. But what if the owner had happened to nominate them for heritage status?

City of Seattle arborist Nolan Rundquist told me anyone can nominate a tree with the consent of the property owner, and more than 150 notable trees have received heritage status under a program that started in 1996.

Cass Turnbull, a member of the Heritage Tree Committee, said the program has helped save some trees but can’t guarantee preservation. With so much development, a stricter tree ordinance is due, she said. “The green stuff we love so much is disappearing under concrete.”

Read full article at The Seattle Times »