'Trees4Livability' Pushes For Overhaul Of Bellevue's Tree Code

BELLEVUE, WA — A growing movement is calling on the Bellevue City Council to take action this year to secure better protections for Bellevue's tree canopy as the "city in a park" enters a major era of development, including large-scale Eastside expansion plans from Amazon.

The community group "Trees4Livability" formed last December and launched a public campaign earlier this year, presenting a report to the city council, testifying at meetings, and launching a signature-gathering effort in favor of moving quickly to strengthen the city's requirements surrounding tree preservation.

Supporters note that Bellevue is the only city in the region that allows up to five significant trees to be removed without a permit, and existing codes include no designations for landmark trees, some of which are 150 years old. The organization's founder, Khaiersta English, moved to Bellevue's Enatai neighborhood a few years back and told Patch it did not take long to notice things were changing rapidly.

"Part of why I chose Enatai out of other neighborhoods is because it still has a lot of mature trees," English said. "I've seen just so much change in our neighborhood, immediately around me, since we moved here. Quite honestly, I wanted to do something about this earlier, I just hadn't found the time."

Existing enforcement mechanisms, English said, do little to discourage violations when property owners or developers skirt what limited rules there are.

The new effort focuses solely on strengthing tree protections in residential, single-family-zoned neighborhoods, rather than commercial areas. However, English points to Amazon's plan to expand its Bellevue workforce to 25,000 employees in the next three years, which necessitates building more housing to make room for new neighbors.

"We are aware that the housing stock is behind, so I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression that we're trying to stand in the way of development," English said. "In fact, we really appreciate developers who come in and improve the neighborhoods. We're just hoping that things can be done in a more thoughtful and intentional way in order to preserve our tree canopy."

Some of the recommendations include updating the tree code in time to take effect in the new year, setting up special protections for landmark trees, requiring new trees are planted when significant trees are removed, developing protection and buffer zones, and setting up a public tipline to allow for easy reporting of illegal cutting and removals. Organizers point to neighboring cities with similar requirements in place, including Redmond, Issaquah, Mercer Island and Seattle.

Another facet is adding "meaningful deterrents," like harsher penalties for violations, along with better incentives for following the tree code.

Trees4Livability's recommendations have attracted a slate of endorsements from environmental groups, including 350 Eastside, 300 Trees and Cascadia Climate Action. The group's petition has already garnered a few hundred signatures, and organizers hope to break 1,000 by the time Bellevue council members go on retreat in June.

Volunteers will also hit the streets for Earth Day weekend, and neighbors are invited to come down and show their support. On Saturday, April 23, Trees4Livability will join Save Coal Creek and Eastside Audubon for an accessible event in the southwest corner of Downtown Park, scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The second event is planned for Sunday outside the Lake Hills Library, scheduled from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Other ways residents can get involved include helping to distribute flyers and contacting council members. Learn more about the Trees 4 Livability project on the organization's official website.