By Roberta and Joseph Johnson
In his guest commentary of February 20, “County’s new tree rules offer greater protection,” the executive director of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish counties described the benefits of Snohomish County’s new tree canopy regulations to both the environment and future residents in Urban Growth Areas.
No mention was made that the Master Builders Association helped craft the new regulations, which the Snohomish County Council adopted. One has to wonder how regulations created by developers might protect trees. The new regulations raise two important issues.
First, providing a 30 percent tree canopy sounds promising should developers find acreage in the County where there are no trees. But what about areas where significant trees do exist? In those areas, it seems logical to preserve the number of existing trees needed to meet the 30 percent canopy requirement.
Rather than incorporating existing tree canopy, here is what happened since then in the 15-acre Silver Peak development adjacent to our forested property under the new regulations.
Over 1,000 prime evergreens up to 175-feet tall were logged to make way for 90 homes. That’s 11 significant trees cut down per home. In addition, hundreds of younger trees and all native undergrowth were cleared.
The only trees saved were in small Tree Protection Areas where slopes were too steep for homes to be built plus a few at the development’s entrance.
Property that contained at least a 90 percent canopy cover now contains next to none.
Six-foot-tall starter trees will be planted in their place that won’t begin to provide an actual 30 percent canopy cover for decades to come.
Developers and the Snohomish County Council may agree that turning forested lands into housing developments at the expense of trees is reasonable. The second issue — harming trees on private property bordering developments — is not.
Ten of our Douglas firs up to 175 feet tall along our property line had feeding roots and all-important anchoring roots that reached up to 25 feet into Silver Peak property. The past tense is used because Snohomish County Code (SCC) allows developers to grade within two feet of a property line whether it harms tree roots or not, even if affected trees could pose a threat to existing residents as well as future home buyers in the development as a result.
Pacific Ridge Homes, a D.R. Horton Company, plans to build homes well within the impact area of these trees with county approval. At least three significant trees from another adjoining property have already blown down on lots slated for new homes during spring windstorms. Allowing developers to disregard construction impact best practices for trees violates two key constraints that remain in The County Code:
General Provisions, Benefits: “This title shall be enforced for the benefit of the health, safety, and welfare of the general public, and not for the benefit of any particular person or class of persons.” SCC 30.10.035.
Land Disturbing Activity: ”…promote sound, practical, and economical development practices and construction activities that prevent or minimize adverse impacts to adjoining properties…” SCC 30.63B.010 (2(a)).
At present a keystone wall a few to several feet below our forest borders the affected trees. To the uneducated eye it and the fence above it may appear attractive to buyers who might not think to question what happened to the roots of those trees. There is nothing in the Snohomish County Code requiring developers to provide that information to their customers.
The Snohomish County Council needs to incorporate two sets of tree canopy regulations — one for land without trees and another for forested property in order to truly protect existing trees. In addition, setbacks to protect significant trees on neighboring properties need to be required to protect the health, safety and welfare of all concerned.
The Snohomish County Council granted final plat approval for Silver Peak on June 29.
Snohomish County residents Roberta and Joseph Johnson have lived on their forested property for 43 years
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