By Kristin Kelly and Kate Lunceford / For The Herald
For long-time Snohomish County residents, we know too well how much our county has grown and changed over the last 35 years.
As a rapidly growing county, much of our once wooded and undeveloped rural and urban neighborhoods have transformed into large housing developments, businesses, roads and other services that are needed to service a growing population. Snohomish County has grown from a population of 465,000 in 1990 to today’s population of 867,100. After two years of process, this month, the Snohomish County Council will be making its final decisions on the required update to the 2024 Comprehensive Plan that will plan for our county population to swell to more than a million people in the next 20 years.
We know that all this new growth can have substantial negative impacts on our environment and our quality of life because we have seen it and have lived it. Our hope is the council will make the right decisions during this update that will truly combat these negative impacts. The council must work as always to ensure protection of our farms, forests, water quality and fish and wildlife habitat. And with recent news that our planet has experienced the hottest days ever recorded, they now must meet the challenge of climate change as well.
This is where we need valiant action and political will!
We are calling on the County Council to adopt a set of policies for retaining and replacing urban trees in our unincorporated urban growth areas as part of the Comprehensive Plan Update. These policies, named the Urban Tree Canopy Policies, if adopted will become part of the Natural Environment Element of the county’s Comprehensive Plan. The Planning Commission recommends approval of these policies as well.
These urban tree canopy policies will ensure more significant trees stay in the ground as new housing is allowed to be built, and to replace lost trees in areas where they are lacking. The goal is to keep at least a “no net loss” of 38 percent tree canopy coverage as new growth and development continue, among other benefits. These policies are modeled on the Department of Natural Resources’ Evergreen Community Act and will replace the current subdivision landscaping regulations that have not adequately protected our urban trees and have done nothing to restore the county’s already built communities.
More trees in our urban communities have enormous benefits. Trees will:
• Reverse the impacts of climate change through carbon sequestration;
• Eliminate heat islands;
• Increase property values;
• Ensure more habitat for birds and small mammals;
• Boost local economies;
• Reduce floods and infrastructure damage;
• Improve air and water quality and lessen pollution;
• Lessen soil erosion and landslides;
• Mitigate stormwater impacts;
• Block noise and light pollution;
• Support salmon populations;
• Provide cool, shady places in summer months and windbreaks for winter storms;
• Conserve energy use;
• Contribute to mental and physical health benefits; and
• Save taxpayers money
The research is clear and well-documented: saving and replanting more trees — and the right trees — in our urban areas will have positive effects for everyone. Plus, people love having large trees in their neighborhoods, whether they live in a single-family home or a large apartment complex.
For too many years the county has created unhealthy conditions for thousands of people who are marginalized and forgotten in land use decisions. Correcting these inequities is a highlight of the update, and these urban tree policies need to be part of that correction to abate heat islands created by a lack of trees in our urban communities.
This is our future! We must demand that our elected county council members meet the environmental and climate change challenges of our fast-growing county. Already there are 26 organizations on record supporting the adoption of the Urban Tree Canopy Policies, as well as the mayors and city council members of Snohomish, Mountlake Terrace and Bothell, along with the Tulalip Tribes and the Snohomish Conservation District, representing thousands of Snohomish County residents.
Now it is crunch time! If you agree with us, please let your voice be heard.
Kristin Kelly lives in rural Snohomish County and represents Futurewise, and Kate Lunceford lives in Bothell and leads the League of Women Voters of Snohomish County Tree Campaign. Both have worked with the county for over two years on the Urban Tree Canopy Policies.
Speak for trees at hearing
The public hearings start at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19. Email the Council at county.council@snoco.org with your written comments. To access the information on the Urban Tree Canopy Policies and info for testifying and submitting comments, visit www.snohomishcountywa.gov/2134/Council-Hearings-Calendar.
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