Question: What types of permits does SDOT Urban Forestry issue?

 Answer: We issue tree planting, pruning, and removal permits.

 Question: Why are permits required for right-of-way tree work? 

 Answer: SDOT Urban Forestry is charged with stewardship of urban forest within the right-of-way; permits enable us to work with adjacent property owners to properly manage trees growing in public places.  Permits also help us to maintain safe rights-of-way, as tree work can involve large equipment operating over streets and sidewalks. We make sure that qualified companies are doing this work to protect people and property in the right-of-way.  Improper tree work, such as topping (which is not permitted), can result in decayed, unsafe trees.  Planting permits ensure that appropriate species are planted for the site.  When large trees are planted under overhead wires or in narrow spaces, they may damage infrastructure and increase future maintenance costs.    

Read more »

Concerned about how Bridging the Gap (BTG) levy funds are being used in Seattle? Then you will be pleased to know that a citizen-led Bridging the Gap Levy Oversight Committee ensures that these vital funds are appropriately spent on addressing Seattle’s maintenance backlog and enhancing its transportation infrastructure.

This committee is made up of members of the community, your neighbors, who work to ensure that BTG delivers on the promises made when it was approved by voters in 2006. It consists of 15 members – five who are appointed by the mayor, five who are appointed by the Seattle City Council and five members set by the legislation. Those five statutory members include the city budget director, the chair of the council’s Transportation Committee and one member each representing the Bike, Pedestrian and Freight Advisory boards.

They meet quarterly to review the BTG program. They are charged with monitoring revenues, expenditures, and program and project implementation. The committee also reviews the annual work plans for Bridging the Gap’s program and project priorities, along with spending and revised financial plans. They also make recommendations to the mayor and city council regarding the spending of levy proceeds.

All BTG Levy Oversight Committee meetings are open the public and the next meeting will happen on October 19, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., in the City Hall Boards and Commissions Room (L-280). The committee encourages members of the community to come and hear about BTG, and the work that is happening across the city. There is also time for public comment at the beginning of each meeting.  If you would like more information about BTG or the oversight committee, please visit our web page.

Don't do this to your tree; from blog.caseytrees.org

It’s time to go out and mow the lawn.  Almost done, there are just a few tufts of taller grass right up against a tree trunk.  It only takes a second with a weed whacker (or string trimmer) to remove the offending grass, but the tree might never recover.  Hitting a tree with a weed whacker results in an ugly gash and can lead to disease and eventual death of the tree.  The tree’s circulatory system is just under the bark; injuries to the area interfere with water, nutrient and starch transport between the roots and leaves.  As a result, the tree may decline, leaving it more susceptible to pests and diseases.   The injury opens the door to fungus, which can cause wood decay and tree death.   If the wound completely encircles the trunk, death is inevitable.

Arborists call this damage “weed whacker blight,” and a recent survey of an SDOT corridor of young trees found that close to 60% of trees were victims.  So what can you do to protect your trees (besides going easy on the weed whacker or lawn mower)? Simply prevent turf grass from growing at the base of the tree.  Gently remove turf and create a ring of mulch 2-3” thick around the tree roots.  Don’t pile up mulch around the base of the tree, which encourages decay.  Instead of lawn, you can plant groundcovers or perennials which don’t need to be mowed near the base of the tree.  If nothing else works, a flexible plastic sleeve around the base of the tree can prevent the worst of the damage.

Planting and mulching around base to prevent weed whacker blight

A plastic sleeve protects the trunk. From http://www.rainbowtreecare.com

Topped tree

When trees and people coexist, trees are sometimes mistreated, improperly pruned, or topped. When a tree is topped, its branches are all cut off at the same height.  Improper pruning encompasses making large, uneven cuts, taking off too much of the canopy or simply cutting branches in the wrong places.  The sad effect: the trees either die or respond by trying to quickly replace their leaf area, by  sending out new branches called watersprouts.  Watersprouts grow tall and dense, are poorly connected to the original trunk, and are prone to decay and breakage.  If the original intent was a smaller tree, poor pruning leads to the opposite: a bigger, denser, potentially dangerous canopy.

One might ask why such horrors are visited upon innocent trees.  Sometimes residents want their street trees to be smaller or fear that large trees are a safety risk.  Business owners might want greater visibility for their signs or awnings.  Unscrupulous workers calling themselves landscapers or arborists may offer to “take care of the trees” for a low price, when they have little or no knowledge of proper tree care.  Trees under power lines are a special case.  Sometimes a large portion of the canopy of a tree must be removed for clearance to prevent electrical fires or downed lines.  While utility pruning is unavoidable when large trees are unwisely planted under power lines, line clearance arborists should still make good cuts and prune as judiciously as possible.

Topped ornamental pear tree

If you are planning to prune your trees, there is a wealth of available information about proper pruning techniques.  SDOT Urban Forestry has produced a pruning guide, translated into 7 languages: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/pruningguides.htm Local non-profit PlantAmnesty offers pruning classes and workshops, and has an arborist referral service: http://plantamnesty.org/home/index.aspx . If you are hiring someone to work on your trees, choose a Certified Arborist.  Arborists certified by the International Society of Arboriculture must take a test to demonstrate their knowledge of tree care, including proper pruning techniques: http://www.isa-arbor.com/.  All trees in the right-of-way require permits prior to pruning branches over 3 inches in diameter.  Pruning according to arboricultural standards is a condition of the permit and SDOT urban forestry ensures that the permit holders are familiar with these standards.   Pruning permits in almost all cases are free, except where an extensive traffic disruption is involved. Link to permits information: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/treepruning.htm.  If you see someone pruning a street tree, you can ask to see their permit, and/or call (206) 684-TREE.

Improperly pruned oak tree

Heritage scarlet oak

Is there a tree on your street that inspires awe every time you walk by?  How about in your backyard or in your local park?  Maybe it’s a Heritage Tree—or could be.  Seattle’s Heritage Tree Program evaluates and designates trees that residents have nominated.    Anyone can nominate a heritage tree, but if it is on private property, the owner’s permission is required before it is considered.  Once nominated, trees are evaluated by a committee of Certified Arborists.  Criteria for Heritage Tree status include size, health, risk rating, history and how each tree compares to others of the same species within the City.  Committee members meet four times each year and are from SDOT, Washington Park Arboretum, PlantAmnesty, and private tree care or consulting companies.

The current chair of the committee is Joshua Erickson, of SDOT Urban Forestry.  He takes in applications, contacts property owners when necessary, maintains a database of Heritage Trees and organizes meetings.  After some consideration he chose a red oak tree in the planting strip at 921 18^th Ave as his favorite.  The tree is 82 feet tall and stretches 100 feet over the road, nearly touching the homes on both sides of the street.

The program started in 1996 by the non-profit PlantAmnesty, in partnership with the City, as a means to recognize outstanding trees that were not necessarily protected by City ordinances. There are now 128 Heritage Trees throughout the city.  Heritage Trees currently have the same status as exceptional trees under Department of Planning and Development ordinances.  For more information on city ordinances concerning trees, see http://web1.seattle.gov/DPD/CAMs/CamDetail.aspx?cn=242 .  Some property owners opt to protect their trees in perpetuity through a conservation easement. For more information on the Heritage Tree Program, including a link to nomination form, go to http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/heritagetree.htm .  The Heritage Tree program also has a facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Seattles-Great-Trees/110605995658069

Heritage sequoia

Consider the work it takes to maintain an attractive and healthy garden.  Now imagine that the garden is surrounded on all sides by a busy street and each time you try to weed or prune or plant the garden, you have to close a lane of arterial traffic, set up multiple signs and cones, and ferry tools and materials across the city.  Next multiply that garden by 110 acres, spread it out over 200 locations and 700 defined planting areas throughout the city, and you begin to see the challenge that the SDOT landscape crew faces every day.  With only 12 Gardeners and 2 Irrigation Specialists, the SDOT Landscape and Irrigation crews manage to create beauty, often literally in the middle of the street.

Maintenance on an Eastlake Ave E median

The locations are not only difficult for people-they also challenge the plants. There are few plants that thrive in both the hot, dry summer and soggy conditions in the winter.  The fact that most of the landscapes are constrained by curbs, streets and sidewalks, multiplies the effects of heat, cold and wet.  The plants have little or no sun or wind protection, water often can’t drain well, and they have no insulation from cold weather.  Many plants that could potentially survive summer drying are done in by winter soaking.   Plants and irrigation systems are periodically destroyed in vehicle accidents.  Unfortunately, some annual and perennial weeds can thrive in these extreme conditions and outgrow more desirable plants.  To combat these challenges, the SDOT Landscape Architect’s office picks the toughest plants available, SDOT irrigation works on some landscapes to deliver a limited amount of summer water, and gardeners spread wood chip mulch, which conserves water and suppresses weeds.  Gardeners perform routine maintenance on established landscapes-weeding, pruning, edging, and planting as often as their schedules allow.  Gardeners also mow lawn areas as needed throughout the summer.

Spring flowers on a narrow corner of a Montlake Blvd NE median

On the Madison St bridge over I5, there is no space for trees or shrubs, but planter boxes, carefully tended by an SDOT gardener, soften the edges and provide bursts of color.  On city streets including Sandpoint Way NE, 15^th Ave W,  Lake City Way, Montlake Blvd NE, Westlake Ave N,  Beacon Ave S, Alaskan Way and many others, green medians and landscapes add permeable surfaces and improve views for visitors and locals alike.  There simply aren’t enough resources to keep all of these areas as manicured and vibrant as the gardeners would like, but the landscapes provide a visual respite from the street, and improve the trips of the thousands of drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists who travel the rights-of-way daily. There are approximately 18 Olmsted-designed or inspired boulevards throughout the city, which are managed by Seattle Parks and Recreation.  SDOT maintains medians and landscape complexes that are not formally designated as Parks boulevards.   Next time you’re travelling through Seattle, take note of the greenspace along the way!

Maintenance on a landscape at Aurora Ave N and N 46th St

Trees frame our streets

Tree-lined streets add beauty to our city, but, like other SDOT assets, require periodic maintenance.  For the Urban Forestry tree crew, routine maintenance means pruning.  The tree crew recently pruned hundreds of ash trees on NE 125^th Street, from I5 to 35^th Ave NE.  Pruning protects vehicles and pedestrians from low-hanging or broken branches, and protects trees from damage caused by vehicle collisions.  According to the Seattle Municipal Code, trees must be pruned fourteen feet over the roadway and eight feet over the sidewalk.  Tree trimmers also prune branches away from street lights and buildings, and remove dead, broken, hanging or structurally unsound tree limbs.  Trimmers use lift trucks or ropes and climbing harnesses to access the trees.  Pruning trees on arterials can be challenging, requiring lane closures and sometimes complicated traffic setups; tree crews work closely with the SDOT Safety Office to ensure a safe worksite.    

A tree in need of pruning

Traffic setup-preparing for pruning