A RESOLUTION concerning policies for the protection of trees on public and private property within the City of Seattle, stating the Council's priorities for legislative and Departmental actions to increase the overall health, quality and the extent of trees within the City of Seattle.

WHEREAS, trees in the City of Seattle provide environmental, aesthetic and economic value to both public and private property; and,

WHEREAS, enhancing existing protections for trees, provided in the City's Comprehensive Plan and the Municipal Code, are necessary to ensure that these efforts are sustainable; and,

WHEREAS, while the City has not adopted the 2007 Urban Forestry Management Plan, it supports many of the findings, conclusions and recommendations listed in that plan; and,

WHEREAS, the May 2009 report prepared by the City of Seattle Auditor's Office titled 'Management of Trees in Seattle' calls for actions to be implemented to improve the City's stewardship of trees on both public and private property; and

WHEREAS, the City has a legitimate interest in extending tree protections to uses in all of the City's zones, as well as expanding, clarifying and improving on existing tree protection regulations affecting such permitted uses;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING:

Section 1. The City Council requests that the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) submit legislation by May 2010 to establish a comprehensive set of regulations and incentives to limit the removal of trees and promote the retention and addition of trees within the City of Seattle on both private and public property, including city park land. DPD shall consult with all city departments that own lands that will be affected by these regulations or incentives. The City Council further requests that DPD look to tree permitting requirements, standards and thresholds adopted by other Washington state jurisdictions, including but not limited to the City of Redmond, City of Lake Forest Park, City of Beaux-Arts, and the City of Woodinville in developing the permitting elements of the legislation. In developing the legislation, the Council requests that DPD consider, but not be limited to, the following:

a. Establishing a requirement to obtain a permit before removing any tree in any residential, commercial or industrial zone;

b. Prohibiting the removal of trees in required yards or required setbacks during construction but allowing exceptions when evidence is presented that development of the site would be substantially precluded or prohibited or when documentation is provided by a licensed or accredited professional that the health of the tree would be significantly undermined as a result of construction;

c. Expanding Seattle Municipal Code section 23.84A to include definitions that support tree protection, planting and preservation measures;

d. Allowing exemptions to the permit requirement that include emergency activities, routine maintenance and tree removal for construction of streets or utilities;

e. Providing incentives to retain existing trees and plant new trees, to include relief from land use code development standards such as height limits, setbacks, lot coverage, density, floor area ratio and minimum parking requirements;

f. Creating standards that allow for the relocation of an exceptional or significant tree from private property to public property or to another private property with a covenant for maintaining the tree, if it is shown that retention of the tree substantially limits the ability to develop to the potential allowed in the zone where the lot or site is located and an arborist certifies that this can be done while maintaining the health of the tree;

g. Using the Transfer of Development Rights to provide incentives to protect existing groves of trees;

h. Including provisions that allow alternative ways to retain canopy cover when trees are removed, such as contributing to a fund to plant and/or maintain other trees or replacing the trees removed with trees totaling an equal number of caliper inches on the site or other locations;

i. Establishing permit review fees that are based on a reasonable reimbursement for permit review time including processing applications, inspecting, reviewing plans or preparing detailed statements required by chapter 43.21C RCW;

j. Establishing criteria to permit the removal of a tree or trees;

k. Adopting tree protection standards that allow for removal of a limited number of trees in a single calendar year, taking into account uses and opportunities in different land use zones;

l. Establishing a system of fines for tree removal without a permit, or in violation of tree protection regulations;

m. Establishing additional protections for all City-designated exceptional trees.

n. Requiring applicants to designate any trees that might be candidates for Exceptional Tree status at the Early Design Guidance stage, so that DPD can rule on these to allow alternate massing schemes to be developed at an early stage that take protecting such trees into account; and,

o. Working with City staff and external experts to model the expected results and impacts of the provisions, using real project examples to analyze whether they provide real protection and enhancement of the tree canopy without inappropriately limiting development that fulfills the City's commitments under the Growth Management Act, particularly in urban villages, urban centers, and transit hubs.

Section 2. The City Council requests that the Department of Planning and Development submit legislation by May 2010 that revises existing tree planting requirements in all zones, to include the consideration of:

a. An appropriate increase in the required minimum caliper dimension, based on best available science;

b. Increasing the required minimum number of trees to be planted or retained;

c. If a project is subject to Green Factor requirements in the Land Use Code, a separate ratio that favors retention of existing onsite trees versus new plantings; and,

d. Establishment of a minimum required canopy coverage area as a percentage of the area of any surface parking lot, to be achieved over a specific time frame, in addition to any other vegetation requirements

Section 3. The City Council requests that by January 2010 the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) update all documents related to the protection of Exceptional Trees to include all 59 'heritage' trees currently designated by the Seattle Department of Transportation in addition to any other 'heritage' trees designated through the end of 2009. This update includes but is not limited to any Client Assistance Memoranda or Director's Rules promulgated by DPD. The City Council further requests that by January 2010, DPD amend as appropriate all documents that detail protections related to Exceptional Trees to include the specific tree species of each such 'heritage' tree and adopt related thresholds for caliper inches of each such protected species by January 2010, as appropriate. Finally, the City Council requests that by January 2010 all 'heritage' trees be shown on the Geographic Information System maintained by any City department, also by January 2010.

Section 4. The City Council requests that the Department of Planning and Development submit legislation by May 2010 that adopts tree planting and tree retention requirements for all new or modified structures serving Institutions, City Facilities, Public Facilities and Schools, similar to those found for other permitted uses in the zone in which each such use is located.

Section 5. The City Council requests that the City's Office of Sustainability and Environment prepare and present to the Council a formal cost estimate and plan for conducting physical inventories of all trees on public and private property in the City of Seattle, employing a sampling model similar to that developed by the City of Portland and detailed in Portland's '2007 Urban Forest Canopy Assessment and Public Tree Evaluation'. The inventory proposal shall be completed and results presented to the City Council by March 2010.

Section 6. The City Council requests that Seattle City Light report to the Council on its efforts to implement the recommendations contained in the May 2009 City Auditor's report for improved coordination between Seattle City Light's Vegetation Management Unit and the Capital Improvement Planning. This report shall be provided to the Council by May 2010.

Section 7. The City Council requests that Seattle City Light and the Seattle Department of Transportation report to the Council on efforts to implement recommendations contained in the May 2009 City Auditor's report concerning a mutually agreed upon tree planting list at or near overhead power lines. This report shall be provided to the Council by March 2010.

Section 8. The City Council requests that the Seattle Department of Transportation report to the Council on efforts to improve coordination between its Street Maintenance Division and its Urban Forestry Division as recommended in the May 2009 City Auditor's report. This report shall be provided to the Council by March 2010.

Section 9. The City Council requests that the Office of Sustainability and Environment present a report to Council by May 2010 that identifies opportunities to encourage owners of existing homes and buildings to retain, maintain and plant trees through education and incentives, including an analysis of utility rates and permit fees for the use of City rights-of-way and City facilities.

Section 10. The City Council requests that the Seattle Department of Transportation submit legislation by May 2010 that provide standards for protection and retention of existing trees planted in the City's rights-of-way.

Section 11. The City Council requests that the Seattle Department of Transportation submit legislation or a Director's rule by May 2010 to state the requirements necessary to obtain a permit to use the public right of way to move a structure.

Adopted by the City Council the ____ day of ____________________, 20____, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this________ day of ______________________, 20__. _________________________________ President ___________of the City Council

The Mayor concurring: Dated: ____________________, 2009 _________________________________ Gregory J. Nickels, Mayor

Filed by me this ____ day of ________________________, 20__. ____________________________________ City Clerk

August 2, 2009 Version #15 clean final ta