Urge City Council to Maximize Saving Trees as We Build Needed Housing
Comments to increase tree retention and planting during development needed now to Seattle City Council Bill 120969
Dear Tree PAC supporters,
The Seattle City Council is adopting legislation on Wednesday this week to implement WA State HB 1110 which requires the city to allow developers to build 4 and 6 plexes in Seattle’s Neighborhood Residential Districts. We support the need to increase more housing supply in urban areas. We do not, however, support clearcutting building lots to do this.
One major concern is that Seattle City Council Bill 120969 will significantly change the building code to reduce setbacks on lots without evaluating how this will impact the city’s ability to retain existing trees or set aside space to plant trees to meet tree code requirements. They say they can evaluate this later but also say they are not intending to update the The Tree Protection Ordinance, SMC 25.11, even though there are a number of provisions needing updating. Other concerns are listed below.
The Seattle City Council Select Committee on the Comprehensive Plan will consider amendments and vote on the CB 120969 on Wednesday May 21st. There will be no public comments on Wednesday but you can still e-mail comments, the sooner the better.
Please send an email with your comments. to Council@seattle.gov and bruce.harrell@seattle.gov
Suggested Comments for e-mails – feel free to copy these and add your own comments or write your own statement:
1. Please amend CB 120969 to keep the current setbacks of 20 feet in the front and 25 feet in the rear instead of 10 feet in the front and 10 feet in the back or zero feet if an alleyway. These reductions will not allow sufficient place to retain or plant most larger trees.
2. Amend Seattle Tree Protection Ordinance section SMC 25.11.070 to remove the provisions that the basic tree protection area cannot be modified during development. The International Society of Arboriculture and SMC 25.11.130 say it can be modified. SMC 25.11.050 details how this can be done.
3. Allow the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) to ask for alternative site designs to save existing healthy trees where possible and create designated tree planting areas. The goal should be to maximize the retention of existing trees where possible.
4. Remove the increased ability in CB 120969 for SDCI that would allow more building in critical areas, particularly steep slopes.
5. Amend the replacement in lieu fee provision in SMC 25.11 to be like Portland Oregon has – an in lieu mitigation fee for larger trees removed to compensate for tree services lost to the city with their removal, like storm water runoff reduction, air pollution removal and heat island impact reduction.
6. Require street trees to be planted for all building construction, including ADU’s which is not currently required.
7. Require all building done under CB 120969 to comply with tree replacement and in lieu fees required under SMC 25.11.110
8. Set up the One Seattle Tree Fund proposed in Mayor Harrell’s Executive Order 2023-3, the One Seattle Tree Plan. Expand it to include grants and donations and fines to be used for planting more trees.
Thank you for submitting comments!
Steve Zemke – Chair TreePAC.org
