Councilmembers submitted over 100 amendments to the comp plan, 11 specifically to support trees. Read our letter to learn why two stand out and will make a real difference for Seattle’s trees:

Dear Council Members,

Thank you to all the council members who have shown a sincere interest in protecting Seattle’s urban tree canopy. In our experience, the amendments that will be most effective in accomplishing this goal are Amendments 93 and 102. We therefore urge you to focus on passing these two amendments. We have also suggested a few small edits to strengthen them, which are attached for your consideration.

Amendment 93 – Neighborhood Residential Tree Canopy Requirements: Guarantees open ground on new lots, preventing nearly complete hardscaping of up to 95% lot coverage. Without it, saplings may be planted in spaces too small to survive, and land will be paved over, accelerating tree loss. This amendment is especially important for frontline communities that rely on new plantings to achieve tree equity.

Amendment 102 – Alternate Site Plan Authority: Restores SDCI’s authority to request alternate site plans that incorporate trees and closes loopholes that allow complete tree removal. We urge that it be revised to also protect Tier 3 trees.

We urge you to act now to approve these amendments. At the current pace of tree removal (345 private property trees per month), delaying action by just six months could result in 2,000 additional trees lost, with negative impacts on public health and environmental justice. While these amendments are necessary, they are not sufficient: without reducing hardscape allowances, Seattle is on track to further increase urban heat islands, where we already rank 5th in the nation.

Sincerely,

Tree Action Seattle and Trees & People Coalition