Planning commission sends draft tree‑canopy LUCA to public hearing after detailed commissioner review
March 27, 2024 | Parks and Community Services Board, Bellevue, King County, Washington
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City planning staff asked the Planning Commission March 27 to authorize a public hearing on a draft land‑use code amendment aimed at protecting and growing Bellevue’s tree canopy. Commissioners indicated unanimous support to prepare the LUCA for hearing after multiple technical questions.
Nick Whipple, code and policy director, and Christina Gallant, planning manager and project manager for the tree canopy amendment, presented the full draft LUCA and the underlying rationale. The central regulatory change is a minimum tree‑credit system: projects must meet a site‑specific credit minimum that can be achieved through a combination of retaining existing trees (higher credit value) and planting new trees (one credit per planted tree). The draft weights retention heavily and includes a 3‑year lookback that would require sites that removed trees recently to replant at specified ratios.
"The applicant must maintain minimum tree credits," Gallant said, summarizing the core compliance approach. She explained that credits for retained trees escalate with trunk diameter and that landmark and grove retention are prioritized. The draft sets a threshold for a 'significant tree' at 6 inches diameter at breast height (DBH) and a 'landmark tree' at 24 inches DBH, with a few species‑specific exceptions. Newly planted trees earn one credit each, with a half‑credit for alders and cottonwoods; a narrowly framed fee‑in‑lieu is available only when planting options are exhausted.
Commissioners broadly praised the goals but raised technical and enforcement questions. Several members asked for more clarity on how the 3‑year lookback would be enforced when unpermitted removals occur and whether the city currently has the inventory and permit records needed to detect those removals. Vice Chair Gopal said the proposed 6‑inch threshold felt low: "Six inches ... doesn't seem like a significant tree to me by any objective measure," and urged staff to explain downstream permitting effects. Commissioners also suggested development incentives (for example allowing additional height or flexible setback relief) to make tree retention economically feasible for single‑family and missing‑middle projects.
On enforcement, staff said the LUCA anticipates requiring permits for significant tree removals and that civil violations would trigger code enforcement action and potential fines when removals occur without permits. Staff also said they will provide more detailed criteria for 'viability' and the qualified tree professional standard and will return additional technical material before the hearing.
The commission indicated support for scheduling a public hearing on the LUCA (staff proposed April 24 to begin noticing, with a Planning Commission hearing and subsequent council review), while reserving any final recommendation until after the hearing and after staff incorporate additional clarifications requested by commissioners.
What happens next: staff will refine the draft to clarify viability criteria, enforcement/permit tracking for the 3‑year lookback, the relative crediting for species such as cottonwood and alder, and possible development flexibility (incentives) to encourage retention. A public hearing will be scheduled and noticed; adoption would proceed after public testimony and any commission or council amendments.
Nick Whipple, code and policy director, and Christina Gallant, planning manager and project manager for the tree canopy amendment, presented the full draft LUCA and the underlying rationale. The central regulatory change is a minimum tree‑credit system: projects must meet a site‑specific credit minimum that can be achieved through a combination of retaining existing trees (higher credit value) and planting new trees (one credit per planted tree). The draft weights retention heavily and includes a 3‑year lookback that would require sites that removed trees recently to replant at specified ratios.
"The applicant must maintain minimum tree credits," Gallant said, summarizing the core compliance approach. She explained that credits for retained trees escalate with trunk diameter and that landmark and grove retention are prioritized. The draft sets a threshold for a 'significant tree' at 6 inches diameter at breast height (DBH) and a 'landmark tree' at 24 inches DBH, with a few species‑specific exceptions. Newly planted trees earn one credit each, with a half‑credit for alders and cottonwoods; a narrowly framed fee‑in‑lieu is available only when planting options are exhausted.
Commissioners broadly praised the goals but raised technical and enforcement questions. Several members asked for more clarity on how the 3‑year lookback would be enforced when unpermitted removals occur and whether the city currently has the inventory and permit records needed to detect those removals. Vice Chair Gopal said the proposed 6‑inch threshold felt low: "Six inches ... doesn't seem like a significant tree to me by any objective measure," and urged staff to explain downstream permitting effects. Commissioners also suggested development incentives (for example allowing additional height or flexible setback relief) to make tree retention economically feasible for single‑family and missing‑middle projects.
On enforcement, staff said the LUCA anticipates requiring permits for significant tree removals and that civil violations would trigger code enforcement action and potential fines when removals occur without permits. Staff also said they will provide more detailed criteria for 'viability' and the qualified tree professional standard and will return additional technical material before the hearing.
The commission indicated support for scheduling a public hearing on the LUCA (staff proposed April 24 to begin noticing, with a Planning Commission hearing and subsequent council review), while reserving any final recommendation until after the hearing and after staff incorporate additional clarifications requested by commissioners.
What happens next: staff will refine the draft to clarify viability criteria, enforcement/permit tracking for the 3‑year lookback, the relative crediting for species such as cottonwood and alder, and possible development flexibility (incentives) to encourage retention. A public hearing will be scheduled and noticed; adoption would proceed after public testimony and any commission or council amendments.
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