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Shoreline City Council held their planning workshop on Fri. 3/5/21 and Sat. 3/6/21.This informal forum was to discuss issues among their colleagues and exchange ideas. The following relates to the discussion about trees and is synthesized from notes taken by Save Shoreline Trees (SST). Research from SST is also included. During this meeting Mayor Hall said he should be considered as a councilmember rather than being in the role of Mayor. Some councilmembers agree with the City staff statement that the “urban tree canopy has grown” which is surprising to SST because in our early 2020 meeting with former Director of Parks Eric Friedli, he acknowledged that due to the removal of 1,400 trees along I-5 for Sound Transit light rail, Shoreline’s tree canopy will be impacted and it will take 12-15 years for replacement trees to be part of Shoreline’s urban tree canopy. During this planning workshop, Council was reminded by a councilmember that “Council agreed on transit development over big trees” and it was also mentioned that the City hopes to acquire more park land. A councilmember questioned if removal of trees is a significant problem? Are we seeing a loss? What is the data? Regarding data, Save Shoreline Trees has reviewed the following as contained in City documents. In 2003, there were 13,226 right-of-way public street trees. In August 2017, it was estimated there were 12,000 right-of-way public street trees. This is a loss of 1,226 public street trees in 14 years. City Manager Debbie Tarry stated that private and public trees are both impacted by development. Rachael Markle, City Planning Director, said more trees are being planted than are being removed and acknowledged the tension between removal of trees and allowing development. SST comment: New trees do not equal mature trees. Comments by councilmembers included concerns about tree replacements, protection of mature Douglas firs and native trees, fining developers who damage trees, and a review of the City tree list. There was the question to City staff if the City encourages developers to look at options in saving trees or does the City wait for the citizens to get involved? There was the suggestion to look at the width of sidewalks for multi-family and single family zones. Public Works Director, Randy Witt commented that in the Engineering Development Manual ("EDM") trees are valued, but this could be highlighted. Often the City does not see development plans until they are close to completion. He also suggested that it would be helpful to have arborists’ reports at an earlier phase of development. City staff is considering providing recommendations to change information in the EDM to better communicate that trees are valued in Shoreline. Regarding Save Shoreline Trees 11 code amendments submitted in December 2020 for consideration in "Batch 2021", City staff suggested it might take more time for staff to weigh the impact of the SST proposed code amendments with existing Shoreline Development Code ("SMC"). A councilmember agreed with some of SST's proposed codes, particularly the preservation of Douglas Firs and of native tree species because of their environmental benefits. Planning Director Markle wondered if the SST Batch should go forward for review now or get an intermediate review and followed with the suggestion it might be a good idea to see what other jurisdictions are doing. One councilmember suggested the timeline to consider tree proposals could be adjusted. Per City Manager Debbie Tarry, there will be discussion among City staff regarding next step and recommendation to Council. Comment by Save Shoreline Trees: We are losing trees now. Major development in Shoreline is increasing now. If our proposed tree code amendments are postponed for further review it means that our proposed codes, written and submitted in 2020, are not following the annual process of Comprehensive Plan Batch evaluation and presentation. And, unless there is an exception to timing, the Shoreline tree code proposals reviewed by City staff will not be presented to the City Council as a study item until Fall of 2022.
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