By Peggy Sturdivant

I am one of the orange vest volunteers conducting a street survey of property parcels in Ballard. There are over 60 of us working house-to-house and block-to-block to review pre-1965 structures to see what’s still standing, and in what condition. Thanks to a Small & Simple grant from the Department of Neighborhoods the Ballard Historical Society has consultants who have created an app and trained us to be able to survey and enter architectural information.

Since we were going to be on the streets anyway Project Lead Davidya Kasperzyk asked the GIS consultant Matt Stevenson of CoreGis to add a data collection category for exceptional trees. For developed property the city defines exceptional trees as those of significant size or that have historical, ecological or aesthetic value. The significant size varies depending on the type. Since we’re observing from the sidewalk we make our best guess on significance based on size: documenting trees that are still standing as part of a survey of historic structures is a bonus for the city. Or should be.

Although we’re using all the non-rainy daylight hours possible in February sometimes the difference between one day and the next is too long for structures. On February 3, 2016 there was a farmhouse that stood from 1900 until just past noon. It had a demolition permit. Exceptional trees are supposed to have permits before “demolition” too, at least on both developed and undeveloped lots, but they can disappear even faster.

In order to remove an exceptional tree on an undeveloped property, generally more than a foot in diameter at chest height or 4.5 feet, the city code calls for a certified arborist to determine that it’s hazardous.

The Tree Protection Code was part of the Development of Planning & Development, which is now the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections. The City’s Planning Division Planning portion is now part of the Office of Planning & Community Development. So what department now protects trees?

Sector 8, Block 28. Between a 1926 and a 1962 is an undeveloped but nicely landscaped lot, 7750 28th NW. We don’t survey undeveloped lots, defined by the city as without buildings. But taped to the trees were notices from Seattle City Light. Public Notice. Tree To Be Removed. Were the clearly exceptional trees hazardous? No. Not yet.

To recap, a homeowner needs a permit to remove exceptional trees. A developer needs a permit to remove trees. This lot is owned by City of Seattle, a former Seattle City Light substation. They do not need a permit to remove trees. Just 10 days notice that they intend to remove them, not because they are hazardous, but because they will impede Seattle City Light’s favored method of cleaning its former substation of pesticides. The trees are not even behind the fence where the obsolete substation was housed. If land by sidewalk was contaminated it wasn’t worth informing the public until the tree removal notice was posted. The public has ten days to comment, despite the fact that many of us have been trying to comment on repurposing substations for years.

How many times do we have to go through this with Seattle City Light? The sites get cleaned before they will be put on the market. The trees and landscaping planted, sometime with fairly rare plantings, to help them blend into a neighborhood is razed. Seattle City Light relies on an unchallenged ordinance to get “fair market value” for the property, even if it is interdepartmental.

“The Nation’s Greenest Utility since 1905” is what it says on Seattle City Light vehicles. There’s even a leaf in the center graphic. That always gets to me.

There are plenty of other ways to clean the soil that can spare trees like the Red Cedar and the ornamental cherries. Bioremediation would be less expensive but takes months instead of days. The site hasn’t been used since the 60s, what’s the rush now? (Really, what is the rush now? Is it the new director?) When neighbors made enough of a fuss at the former Fauntleroy Substation Seattle City Light used an air spade process. The Red-Bellied Sapsuckers love the trees that are still thriving there as a group tries to fundraise and keep it from being sold and developed.

A homeowner or developer removing an exceptional tree could receive a Notice of Violation, potentially followed by a Stop Work Order. Too often the tree is already gone, cut late on a Sunday before whatever department is supposedly in charge of protecting trees can be notified. The trees at Loyal Heights haven’t been designated as Heritage Trees but they’re special anyway. “Most cherry trees die young,” Plant Amnesty’s Cass Turnbull said about the showiest of the trees. “These are old and healthy. That’s remarkable.”

So back to the volunteers racking up 100s of hours surveying the Ballard lots, noting the trees, creating a product that will belong to the City of Seattle. Consider the Department of Neighborhood grant used years ago to develop a plan for community solar on another surplus substation, dismissed by Seattle City Light. What’s that adage about the fox guarding the hen house?

Can citizens present Seattle City Light with our own Notice of Violation? Can we finally get someone with enough guts to change an ordinance that effectively forces individuals to raise the funds to buy public lands they’ve paid for as taxpayers and ratepayers? How convenient that by spending less on cleanup Seattle City Light will create a lot more valuable to developers who won’t have an “exceptional” tree problem.

I’ve said it before, we may not have control over private sales, but shouldn’t we have some power when it comes to public lands? This former substation could be a P-Patch, some form of affordable housing, a tree bank, a community solar station, so many things other than an over-sized “single family residence” built to the lot lines. The note on the tree gave the public until February 12th to comment. How about a simple “no.”

Seattle City Light is a publicly owned utility that reports to the mayor. Contact the mayor’s office.