The Seattle City Council voted Tuesday afternoon to pass an updated version of a city ordinance regulating trees on private property, which had not been adjusted since 2009. The legislation will fully overhaul the ordinance for the first time since the section of code protecting trees was adopted in 2001, years before the climate and housing crises came to dominate both city discourse and priorities. Seattleites have since become aware of the many benefits trees provide, from cooling to improving people’s health and general well-being. The city is losing trees faster than it is replanting them, and is thousands of housing units short to meet the demand of a growing population. …But the Urban Forestry Commission and tree advocates worry that the legislation so long in the making was rushed through the voting process. 

Additional coverage in the Seattle City Council Blog: Seattle City Council Passes Stronger Tree Protection Ordinance That Protects Ten Times as Many Trees While Increasing Housing Stock