Update: August 12, 2024

Vida is saved thanks to community action, thoughtful media attention and the developer and architect's willingness to build new housing which incorporates this tree!  See the story here.

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This 80 foot tall Doug fir is the last tree on the 1000 block of S Cloverdale Street, and provides cooling shade to eight homes all by itself. Nicknamed Vida by neighbors, this tree used to be protected under Seattle’s old tree law — but now that the new tree ordinance has passed, developers successfully petitioned for its removal. 

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About South Park

South Park has only 12% tree canopy, much lower than the city-wide average of 28%. Studies show that this neighborhood is a frontline community: here, residents have higher rates of respiratory illness and shorter lifespans than people in other Seattle neighborhoods. Why?

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• South Park has co-mingled industrial and residential zoning, and is one of the only communities where people live right next to pollutant-producing manufacturing hubs. 
• South Park is close to the airport, the Port of Seattle, and other diesel-heavy transportation arterials — and is heavily paved, making this neighborhood an urban heat island that floods regularly in the winter. 

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Evergreen trees like Vida are the single most effective and affordable solution to all these problems. Yet, SDCI is busy mowing them down.

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About Vida

Vida has been assessed by arborists as healthy, and grows in the back corner of the lot. This tree could easily be saved — in fact, the original plans submitted by developers even keep this tree while retaining the same amount of housing. Vida’s removal is simply for convenience during construction that results in quick profits.

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Cityplanners say the tree will be "removed and replaced" with a small tree and pavement. Vida is irreplaceable to the many who live on this block, especially because for some, it’s their only connection to the health benefits of trees.

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The approval to remove Vida reveals the hollow core of the City’s tree equity promises. SDCI is on track to replace all of the trees in South Park on private property with pavement. All the while, they loudly lament tree inequity in frontline neighborhoods and promote programs to plant saplings on a small amount of public land. 

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South Park needs more green, not more greenwashing.