2026 Tree Code Update

Grow Edmonds’ tree canopy to at least 35% by 2036, with no net loss from today, and make the tree rules easier to follow.

• Set a measurable goal of at least 35 percent canopy cover by 2036.
• Measure “no net loss” against the 32.4 percent canopy found in 2021 imagery.
• Consolidate and cross-reference the tree regulations, including moving the Tree Fund provisions into ECDC 17.130. Further consolidation would wait for the Unified Development Code update.

Any tree 24 inches across or larger is a landmark tree, and four hard-to-replace species qualify at smaller sizes.

• A landmark tree is any significant tree with a diameter at standard height (DSH) of 24 inches or more.
• Selected species reach landmark status at smaller sizes because of their ecological, cultural, or regional importance. The Board chose them because new plantings of these species survive poorly, so existing trees deserve protection.
• The Board acknowledged the added education and enforcement work, but felt the short list and web-based identification tools make it reasonable for residents to recognize these species.

Healthy landmark trees stay. They can come down only if they are hazardous or causing serious damage, and only with a permit.

• Healthy landmark trees cannot be removed under the annual allowance or the permit for additional removals.
• Removal requires meeting the hazard or nuisance criteria and an approved Type I tree removal permit.
• Hazard: documentation must show a high or extreme risk that cannot reasonably be reduced.
• Nuisance: documentation must show extensive physical damage that cannot be fixed through reasonable repairs or tree care.
• Emergencies: removals stay exempt when a threat is imminent, with prompt notice to the City and supporting evidence.

On developed lots, owners may remove one significant tree a year after notifying the City. Removing more takes a permit, capped at three trees per 36 months.

• Annual allowance: one significant tree in any 12-month period after notifying the City. This does not cover landmark trees, trees in critical areas, or other protected trees.
• Additional removals: a Type I permit for up to three significant trees at once, which sets the total allowance for the next 36 months. The Board saw this as more flexible and less costly for owners, while letting the City track removals. Because larger lots can also use the permit, the Board did not recommend an allowance that grows with lot size.
• Before development: any removal counts toward the requirements of a development or site improvement application filed within 36 months.
• Other permit triggers: hazard or nuisance removals of landmark or protected trees, critical areas and buffers, vacant or subdividable lots, and anything beyond the allowance.
• Forest Stewardship Plan: supported in concept, but the code should state that its purpose is to promote, protect, and enhance existing forested areas, and set a measurable qualifying threshold beyond “heavily wooded” and a 25,000 sq ft lot.

A credit system replaces the 30% retention rule for low density residential development, rewarding the preservation of large trees first.

• Tree density credits (TDCs) replace the existing 30-percent retention calculation. They account for lot size, development intensity, and the higher value of large existing trees.
• The minimum is met first by keeping trees, then by planting on site, and only then by a fee-in-lieu when planting is not feasible.
• The requirement steps down as units increase, balancing canopy growth with middle housing.

• Credits also apply to additions, new decks, retaining walls, and parking lots. Site improvements under 500 sq ft that need tree removal follow the process for removals not related to development.
• Retention comes first: Priority One trees (viable landmark trees within required setbacks, and groves) must be kept even if the site already meets its minimum, unless keeping them would make the primary intended legal use infeasible.
• Bigger trees earn more: credits rise with trunk size up to 12 for trees 30 inches DSH and larger. New trees earn 1 credit, or 2 if chosen from the City’s Preferred Species List, which is to include at least native conifers and other species that can reach landmark size.

Still undecided: the Board could not agree whether multi-family, mixed-use, and commercial development should have a credit minimum, citing possible conflicts with development standards such as those in the BD zones.

When required credits can’t be met by keeping or planting trees, developers pay a fee for each missing credit, with no cap.

• A fee-in-lieu of $1,600 applies to each unmet credit, only after the City finds that retention and feasible on-site planting can’t meet the requirement.
• The existing maximum fee cap would be eliminated so mitigation stays proportional to what is missing.
• The fee waiver for keeping more than 50% of trees would be removed, since it is moot or conflicts with the credit system.
• Site restoration obligations remain separate from civil penalties.

Projects that plant trees under the credit system agree to care for them while they get established.

• Development and site improvement projects covered by the tree density credit requirements would enter a 5-year maintenance agreement to help newly planted trees establish.