Let's Get Moving in March
Tree Code Update!
The City of Bellevue City Council has tasked the Planning Commission to research and propose Tree Canopy Code Amendments in the following areas:
- Tree Preservation: Review the definition of significant trees and assess whether/what limits should be placed on a number of significant trees that may be removed with a permit.
- Tree Retention: Clarify tree retention requirements and improve systems for tracking retained trees.
- Tree Replacement: Assess whether tree replacement requirements should be expanded.
- Tree Protection: Codify critical measures to protect retained trees from construction and pruning damage and assess current enforcement mechanisms.
The next steps include seeking initial community and stakeholder feedback, which will inform city staff in developing proposed amendments. Outreach events should begin in March with opportunities stretching over the next several months. Check back for dates!
Show your support for tree code updates...
Email the City Council: The City Council needs to hear from you! Email the council at council@bellevuewa.gov and ask about the status of tree code updates, share a personal story or share why trees matter to you. The council will be pushing the Planning Commission to complete this important work.
Email the Planning Commission: Voice your support for the Tree Canopy Code Amendments to the Planning Commission at planningcommission@bellevuewa.gov. Let the Planning Commission know the importance of preserving Bellevue’s tree canopy!
Speaking opportunities are coming!
Speak at the Planning Commission: Speak to the Planning Commission about the importance of the Tree Canopy Code Amendments. Meetings are held on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month in Conference Room 1E-113 at Bellevue City Hall and on Zoom. Sign up between 5:30 and 6:20 pm on meeting days here or by emailing planningcommission@bellevuewa.gov. The next meeting is on March 8 at 6:30 pm.
Speak at the Bellevue City Council: Speak to the Bellevue City Council about your support of the Tree Canopy Code Amendments. City Council meets Mondays at 6 pm in City Hall Council Chamber. Sign up to speak in person or virtually before 5 pm on meeting days.
Our Partners
We are honored to work with community partners.
Now is the Time
Millions of Square Feet
We have millions of square feet of office space being built in downtown Bellevue. Large companies such as Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Symetra, T-Mobile, Appito, OfferUp, Smartsheet, and K2 attract new residents to Bellevue. Amazon's new office, for example, will be completed in 2025 and brings 25,000 jobs and significant demand for housing.
We are a city of transplants. We welcome people from all over the world. We need new and more diverse housing options, but this does not need to come at the expense of our tree canopy. We need to strengthen tree codes in 2023 to preserve our city for current and future residents of Bellevue. Today, old homes are being torn down, and new larger homes are being built in their place. In the process, large quantities of significant trees are coming down. These trees take many decades - or in some cases, many lifetimes, to grow.
In Bellevue, developers can cut down five significant trees without a permit. A significant tree is defined as 8" in diameter. These trees take approximately 25 - 45 years to grow. Additionally, we have no special protections for Landmark Trees that are 100 - 150 years old. Read more about this on the city's website.
You can imagine how quickly these regulations could change the face of our community. You can see it, already...if you look around.
Bellevue's tree code needs to be updated to include:
- Permits for all Significant or Landmark Tree removals
- Minimum tree density requirements
- Special protections for Landmark Trees
- Replacement tree requirements
- & More.
Bellevue defines a significant tree as 8" in diameter...
These trees take 25 - 45 years to grow.
Other major municipalities in the Puget Sound region define significant trees as 6" in diameter.
Can you imagine...
5 Fewer Trees?
With 5 fewer trees, 50% of the trees from the pictured home would be gone. Imagine what a difference that would make in the feel of the street, the neighborhood, and the community.