(Editor's note: The following article is from Richard Conlin's Making It Work Newsletter.)

On Monday, Feb. 23, the council approved my ordinance to establish new interim tree protections that will limit tree removal on virtually all single family and commercially zoned properties in Seattle (only single family properties of less than 5,000 square feet are exempted). The new tree protection ordinance will help to conserve our rapidly disappearing tree canopy – the reason Seattle was nicknamed the Emerald City.

The council vote was 8 to 1 (Richard McIver voting no).

The council has previously adopted a Comprehensive Plan policy goal of reversing the decline of Seattle's tree canopy cover, now measured at about 18 percent of land area, and grow it to 30 percent over the next few years.

This turnaround will require planting new trees, taking better care of existing trees to protect their health, and taking steps to prevent the removal of healthy trees. This interim measure is the first step in putting a set of policies in place to achieve those goals. These policies will include incentives to reward property owners for protecting and increasing tree cover, as well as better practices to maintain city owned trees and increase their number.

Protecting mature trees from unnecessary removal is intended to prevent clear-cutting of the city's tree canopy. Trees have great ecological value: they reduce storm water runoff and pollution, absorb air pollutants and carbon dioxide, provide wildlife habitat and shade, stabilize soil, and enhance property values. They thus contribute to fighting the effects of global warming, mitigate flooding and the toxic effects of storm water run-off, promote community, and keep Seattle an attractive, vibrant city.

Council Bill 116404 limits tree removal to no more than three trees of 6 inches or greater in diameter per lot in any one year period on single-family zoned lots that are at least 5,000 square feet, or on any sized lot in a lowrise, midrise or commercial zone. It also prohibits the removal of exceptional trees. Normal and routine pruning of trees are exempt from the limits, as are removal of trees that are hazardous and trees whose removal is required for construction of a new structure under an approved building or grading permit. The new law also expands the definition of “exceptional tree” to include the phrase "group of trees."

The legislation balances the right of property owners to handle trees on their lots with our collective responsibility to manage urban development to keep our city a vital and desirable place to live.