City releases draft plan for managing Edmonds’ trees

A draft plan about managing trees in Edmonds, especially trees in public places, has been issued by the City of Edmonds.

The draft “Urban Forest Management Plan” is posted online or click here. It will be discussed at a public meeting of the Edmonds Citizens’ Tree Board at its April 5 meeting, 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at 250 5th Ave. N., Edmonds.

“We really want public input on the draft plan,” said Shane Hope, the city’s development services director.  An open house and other public meetings are being planned for April and May.  More information is on the website and will be updated from time to time.

The draft plan calls for more activities to maintain the tree canopy in Edmonds and to proactively manage trees in public places.  Suggestions include: planting more trees, establishing a tree bank, inventorying public trees, updating city regulations, and launching a heritage tree program. Some activities would need more city resources; others might fit within existing programs.

After a public input period and consideration by the Tree Board and Planning Board, the draft urban forest management plan will be discussed by the City Council, probably starting in June. The City Council would decide whether to approve the plan with any changes.

 

  1. the citizens of Edmonds were unanimous at a Council meeting about 2-3 years ago that they did not want restrictions on their private property. Looks like the City is whittling this away?

  2. As a former resident of Woodway, while beautiful, there are virtually no Puget Sound views in other than bluff homes. Shouldn’t view preservation have a place in an Edmonds tree plan where we currently have extensive view vistas? Was any thought given to our 25 ft height limit relative to encouraging 100 ft maples or 150 ft for trees? Some of east side communities mandate view preservation.

  3. The Tree Board’s presentation is this Tuesday March 20th and it will be highlighting the work that was preformed in 2017. I hope citizens can go on-line and watch it or on the web or come to the meeting.

    One of the main goals of the Tree Board last year was to create a logo for branding. At the bottom of the logo is “Right Tree, Right Place” and we have been educating citizens about “Right Tree, Right Place”. The fact that the Tree canopy is very important and not all of homes in Edmonds have views.

    There are many items other than views that can and should be addressed. As Mr. Echelbarger alluded regarding views on the East side which I am unfamiliar with – but do know that in Redmond, a farm is being converted into a “tree farm” so as citizens can mitigate tree removal by placing trees in this area to help in maintaining a good tree canopy.

    So, please engage in this process so that we can have a good UFMP as eventually a Tree Ordinance will have to be crafted.

  4. Why is Edmonds using a California consulting firm to make recommendations on our Edmonds tree planning? Certainly there are local firms who could do the consulting and could use the Edmonds tax payer money.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Real first and last names — as well as city of residence — are required for all commenters.
This is so we can verify your identity before approving your comment.

By commenting here you agree to abide by our Code of Conduct. Please read our code at the bottom of this page before commenting.