4,500

Trees removed since January 2024 in Seattle.
Why We're Losing Trees
Why Trees Matter
FAQs
How You Can Help
Our Tree Code Protects Profits, Not Trees.

In 2023, Seattle passed a tree ordinance which was the culmination of months of meetings between the developer lobby and city officials.

The ordinance granted the developer lobby nearly everything on their wish list and resulted in two completely different tree ordinances, one for homeowners and one for developers. In the 6 months leading up to the passage of our current tree ordinance:

108

There were 108 meetings between the city and the developer lobby discussing tree code management.

3

There were only 3 meetings between the city and the the city-created Urban Forestry Commission.

28

28 of the developer lobby's tree ordinance requests went their way. See their wish list here.

This Code Snip Speaks for Itself

The new tree ordinance lets construction companies remove trees of any size for any reason.

See for yourself:

Housing Versus Trees is a  False Choice — Even Legally Debunked.

In 2021, Seattle's hearing examiner rejected the developer lobby’s claim that trees hinder housing development. After reviewing extensive evidence, the examiner determined that large trees on lots could be preserved without impacting maximum housing capacity, proving the developers' argument was false. Learn more in the FAQs.

Architects and Urban Planners Also Reject It

We work with AIA architects and urban planners who help us prove housing can be built with trees. So far, architects have shown that almost every single tree removal we've seen so far on private property could have been prevented with smarter planning, with the same amount of housing built.

Help us send 1,000 emails asking for a new tree code
Send an email to your elected officials asking the city to rewrite the tree ordinance. Click the button for a preaddressed email. If the link isn't working, start an email to bruce.harrell@seattle.gov and council@seattle.gov.
Send an Email

Seattle's Trees Are Hens Guarded by Foxes in The City Building Department.

The city building department is in charge of enforcing the tree code. Instead of enforcing the few protections we have, they:

  • Routinely approve illegal removals
  • Alter and contradict their permit records
  • Close public complaints without any investigation
  • Allow after-hours illegal tree removals

Corruption Is In The Air

Some developers even brag about the revolving door between the city’s building department (SDCI) and their employees:

Reports Say It All. See For Yourself.

The city building department was recently audited by the city. The audit revealed nepotism, collusion, and legal forms of corruption. Tree Action Seattle’s own report revealed how SDCI routinely fails to enforce basic tree code.
PubliCola
Local Coverage
Earlier this year, the Seattle city auditor released a that raised serious concerns about ethics and culture at the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections...
Read
Seattle City Auditor
The Official Audit
Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss requested that we examine the City of Seattle’s (City) process for reviewing construction permits. Our objectives were to answer...
Read
Tree Action Seattle
Our SDCI Report
The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections regulates nearly half of Seattle’s urban forest. Tasked with protecting this resource, SDCI has instead overseen its removal.
Read
Sign our petition to move trees out of SDCI
SDCI has proven they aren’t able to effectively enforce the tree code. We need trees out of SDCI, ASAP. Sign our change.org petition to make it happen.
Sign Our Petition
Help Ask For Independent, Science-Based Tree Management
We periodically send emails letting Seattlites know when their voice can be heard in policy making. Subscribe to be in-the-know.

urban heat islands

Why Trees Matter

Urban heat islands are caused by the temperature difference between built, urban areas and the surrounding natural area. This temperature difference is caused by the removal of trees in cities. Seattle is 5th in the nation for worst urban heat islands.

Why Trees Matter

Urban heat islands are caused by the temperature difference between built, urban areas and the surrounding natural area. This temperature difference is caused by the removal of trees in cities. Seattle is 5th in the nation for worst urban heat islands.
Seattle with wildfire smoke, summer 2020.

#5

Seattle is top 5 in the nation for urban heat islands ¹

400

Over 400 people died of heat-related illness during our last big heat wave ²

20° F

Trees in Seattle can cool city temps by up to 20 degrees Fahrenheit ³

5%

Energy consumption increases up to 5% for every 2° F temperature increase in cities ⁴

The Impact of Urban Heat Islands:

Worse summer Heat

While Seattle is not as hot as cities like Phoenix, summer temperatures now routinely climb into the unhealthy and even fatal range. 400 people died in Seattle’s 2021 heat wave. ²

Public Health problems

UHIs and extreme heat add pollutants to urban air and stormwater runoff, are linked with chronic illness, increase heat-related deaths, worsen our mental health, and more. ⁵

Increased energy consumption

For every 2° F increase in temperature, cities use 0.5 - 5% more energy. The more energy we use, the hotter our city gets, perpetuating the creation of urban heat islands. ⁴

This is an Equity Issue.

Seattle’s worst urban heat islands are located in its lowest-income communities that already have the worst tree protections. We are stacking the deck against our most vulnerable communities.

FAQs

Why Should I Care?
Why Should I Care?
Are We Asking for Radical Change?
Are We Asking for Radical Change?
Can’t We Replant Trees That Are Removed?
Can’t We Replant Trees That Are
Removed?
Can’t We Just Have Trees in Parks and Along Streets?
Can’t We Just Have Trees in Parks
and Along Streets?
Can We Build Housing Densely and Keep Our Trees?
Can We Build Housing Densely and
Keep Our Trees?
Do Protected Trees Encroach on My Property Rights?
Do Protected Trees Encroach on
My Property Rights?

How you can Help

Help Us Grow

Subscribe to our newsletter, and share it with someone who loves trees but doesn’t know they aren't protected. The larger our numbers, the harder it is for city leaders to ignore us.

Email The City

Help us send 1,000 emails to the mayor and city council, asking them to revise the tree ordinance. You can use our preaddressed email here, or send your own email to Mayor Harrell (bruce.harrell@seattle.gov) and council@seattle.gov.

Sign The Petition

Join the 2,700+ people who have signed our change.org petition to move trees out of SDCI into a new, independent Department of Climate and the Environment.

Attend An Event

Join us in-person at an upcoming event.

Subscribe

Take a Step Towards Climate Justice in Seattle.