City gets state funding to study how to increase tree canopy over part of south West Seattle

Mike August 8, 2024 (4:05 pm)

For Pete’s sake, the solution is to plant more trees.

K to the F August 8, 2024 (4:24 pm)

$302,000 sure could, ya know, plant a lot of trees.Seriously though, the city already has approved types of trees for different types of locations so start planting. Run a quick map query of those zones, order ’em up, and roll out! Heck, make it a community thing and invite all of us and we’ll get tons planted in a weekend or two.

Seth August 8, 2024 (4:35 pm)

I will answer the question for way less than the 300k$ grant study. If you want to increase tree cover my brilliant solution is to …. Plant more trees.

No sticky drippy trees August 8, 2024 (4:40 pm)

Hooray for tree canopy! Dear Tree Canopy Choosers, please do not choose trees that drip sticky sap on the parked cars below. When I moved here in the ‘80’s, California Ave south of the junction was treeless and forlorn. Now it is nice and shaded, but the cars parked there are covered in sticky leaves and sap. Please consult an arborist who knows how to choose the right trees for street-side environments.

Rooster August 8, 2024 (5:28 pm)

I believe those are Linden trees. They attract aphids hence the sticky honeydew that drops on cars.
The Dude August 8, 2024 (6:28 pm)

Um, sorry to say that sticky substance would be aphid poop. Sap doesn’t drip from leaves. Probably due to lack of maintenance and drought stress, not tree selection.
Lagartija Nick August 8, 2024 (6:37 pm)

That’s not sap it’s aphid poop.

JohnnyA August 8, 2024 (4:43 pm)

Another study?
The study will not provide one tree.

Use the $302,000 for planting and maintaining street trees.
Use some money to install and maintain free trees for property owners.

Curious George August 8, 2024 (5:13 pm)

Finally some common sense- no more studies! Buy the trees, plant and maintain them.

Rmk August 8, 2024 (4:43 pm)

It’s always amazing that there is some houses that are 80+ years old and no one bothered to spend a few bucks to plant trees.

KM August 8, 2024 (8:33 pm)

Amen. I live next to two 80+ year old homes, one has 75% of its surface paved (unpermitted), and not a single tree. The new construction in the neighborhood is much, much better.
Duh August 8, 2024 (8:36 pm)

Those 80 year-old houses had plenty of mature trees when those 80-year old houses were purchased. New homeowners probably paid a huge sum of money to remove those trees for sunnier backyards that were easier to mow and didn’t need to rake up in the fall. Short-sighted at best.

Joan August 8, 2024 (5:02 pm)

Agreed!! No brainer. How to increase tree canopy? Plant trees. And water them and care for them, and don’t cut any more down. Sheesh. Whose idea was it to “fund” a study first? Honestly, this is one instance of too much gov’mint.

Derek August 8, 2024 (7:03 pm)

Yeah let’s just destroy gas and sewer lines and potential power lines causing fires and just plant trees Willy nilly? Man thankfully things are a little more planned out. You guys just talk and don’t know what you’re saying.

Julie August 8, 2024 (5:12 pm)

Maybe don’t allow people who buy old houses to flip to cut down all the trees and bushes on the property that they have currently bought. I have seen everyone who has bought property to flip cut down healthy trees and healthy bushes and leave no vegetation on the property and have put down gravel. I understand it’s now the person property that they have just bought but it actually is detrimental to the air quality and noise pollution and animals and birds life in our community. A waste of money to have a study anyone with a brain can figure this out without a study. Stop chopping down trees and bushes!

anonyme August 9, 2024 (5:59 am)

This is a huge part of the problem. Last week I watched as developers not only razed a lovely old home on 40th, but cut down trees including a heritage tree. I reported it hoping that they didn’t have a permit, but they did. They hadn’t reported when applying for the permit that at least one of the trees was a heritage tree, but I doubt there will be any repercussions for that deception. Builders usually get what they want, and they always want to cut trees as it’s easier. The ‘modern’ method of clear cutting and bulldozing lots prior to building is unsustainable, and the scrawny trees and shrubs that pass as landscaping on these new builds will most often die as the topsoil has been removed and the soil compacted. This type of landscaping also does nothing to replace the mature trees that are lost. The city talks a lot about tree protection, but the laws, like so many others, are largely meaningless and unenforced.

mem August 8, 2024 (5:22 pm)

How about NOT tearing down a house and building 5-6 houses on that lot??? I’m all for increasing density but put a green requirement as part of all this new construction. Three houses with plenty of room for trees would be a very nice solution. Since moving here 9 yrs ago, I’ve planted 15 trees. Two will eventually become heritage trees if climate change doesn’t get to them first. I agree with RMK- very amazing!

Alex August 8, 2024 (5:26 pm)

Seattle is going to Zero Lot Lines and 4 to 6 structures on a ‘residential’ lot. That calls for a tree canopy study. It doesn’t take $300k to figure out why an area with a multiblock shopping center, massive parking lot, a school and a big playing field have less trees than other areas in the City.

Jim August 8, 2024 (5:36 pm)

Save a whole lot of my money – Just plant trees with no study just a trusted arborist to help and with the other $200k fix our streets and bridges.

Admiral-2009 August 8, 2024 (5:42 pm)

Let’s see

Option 1 – spend money studying the tree canopy (consumes trees for paper)

Option 2 – spend money buying and planting trees.

And the City chooses Option 1 that even a 1st grader knows the better Option is #2

Steve August 8, 2024 (6:00 pm)

There is a reason there are less trees. Single family homes with large yards are torn down and four or six or ten townhouse are built on the lot with barely a plant on the whole lot. Or a four or six story apartment building. And people cheer for it and say density is great! The city could pay me a small percentage of the $302,000 and I could explain some very simple facts to them.

Bbron August 8, 2024 (8:30 pm)

You live in the area Steve? I walk this whole area frequently for the past 4 years, and I have yet to see a plot get developed that had to cut down a tree. All of the plots have either had no trees already (just large yards), or any existing trees were preserved and are still around. Turns out any money for your “simple facts” would’ve been wasted.
- Wrong August 8, 2024 (9:02 pm)
  
  Just because you showed up 4 years ago and “have yet to see a plot get developed that had to cut down a tree” doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. Your arrogance is showing. Maybe take a break from sharing all your thoughts in a neighborhood that has centenarian residents who get pushed out and judged for not living the way you choose to live. Please stop being part of the problem!
  - Canton August 8, 2024 (10:32 pm)
    
    Well said. I will never understand how the few, and their personal opinions; demand the majority to live as they live. The narcissism is off the charts…
    - Bbron August 9, 2024 (11:13 am)
      
      what lifestyle am I trying to push on folks? what narcissism? y’all are reading words not there. if you can provide an example of a dense development that tore down a bunch of trees in the area above, go ahead, but there isn’t one. it’s wild that this area is like ~80% single family homes and will continue to be the vast majority of the property for the foreseeable future, but you think that dense living is the lifestyle being forced on people? y’all can’t be bothered to consider that people want the choice to live that way, but y’all will continue to push the fantasy that the dense housing they want is what’s destroying the tree canopy.
    - Kyle August 10, 2024 (8:10 pm)
      
      Bbron, just a recent one that comes to mind. The townhome development at 7555 15th Ave SW took out like 5-7 exceptional trees and a bunch of street trees over the past 2 years. Just go ahead and look at the changes in Google street view. I am actually for the density, but it is a trade off. I am against paying $300K to study planting trees. Just use the 300K and some already published common sense to plant and care for some.
    - Bbron August 10, 2024 (10:50 pm)
      
      Kyle, that’s not in the location referenced in the article which is what I’m focusing on. I’m sure if I took the time to see the changes in that area I’d see the same thing that dense housing development is the cause of tree loss like what’s been messaged in these comments. You know the $300k is to study 3 other areas, right? and that it’s from a grant specificly to access more funding? Why do you think $300k is sufficient?
- anonyme August 9, 2024 (6:02 am)
  
  Bbron, I’ve been walking these streets since before I became an arborist many years ago, and I see large trees, heritage trees, cut down ALL THE TIME, as recently as last week. Maybe you were looking at your phone instead of the environment around you. Steve is 100% correct.

STOP urban density 🚫 August 8, 2024 (6:18 pm)

How about stop building beehive apartment complexes with tree-less, concrete fascias in that zone, instead? Every single-family home knocked down in that area had yards full of mature legacy trees, lawns, shrubs, etc. Now it’s a concrete and asphalt hell-scape. My former neighbor in that zone had a 100-foot cedar cut down “to get more light”. Then she sold and moved a year later.

Pop August 9, 2024 (9:13 am)

The alternative to dense apartments is sprawl. Which has a bigger footprint and takes out a whole lot more trees.Also, the one example you give of a tree being cut down isn’t even due to development, but to a selfish homeowner.
Bbron August 9, 2024 (10:55 am)

your example is of a single family home owner modifying their private property; totally unrelated to constructing dense housing. show me one example in this area posted in the article where a dense housing development took out any trees.
- WSB August 9, 2024 (12:14 pm)
  
  You can browse via Google Street View to compare before and after. One example that occurred to me immediately is the townhouse cluster abutting the parking lot across SW Roxbury from Holy Family. Looks like they replaced an old house with a lot of vegetation. The original site plan would show for sure. Not to say that’s bad, but since you were asking for examples in that area …
  - Bbron August 9, 2024 (1:51 pm)
    
    perfect, thank you for an example to go off of. i use google earth. that development across from Holy Family did take out significant tree cover, so i’m wrong in that there are examples of dense developments taking out trees. however, the overwhelming majority of the dense developments in the area (Blue stone, the one S of Boss Burger, the one in the NE corner of Henderson/Barton, the 2 townhouses on 20th Ave SW, the 5 townhouses on 25th Ave) were built without taking out any significant tree cover. the BODE across from WWV did take out significant trees; however now there’s 75 more opportunities for community members while the SFH/Duplex just S of it took out an equivalent amount of trees. E of Delridge has had a lot of dense development that has taken trees out, but at the same time you see several tree covered lots divided into 2 plots for McMansions that take no care in preserving any existing trees, so you get 2 families instead of double or more for the same amount of trees taken out. if you take the swath of SFH in the box made between Barton, Roxybury, 34th and 30th as an example of what’s being championed as the counter to densifying, you don’t see a growing, preserved canopy over the past decade; you see trees take down piecemeal as their owners clear them out either for no development reason or for ADUs. the narrative that dense developments are the cause of tree cover loss is unfounded.
Nolan August 10, 2024 (12:18 am)

I have fantastic news for you about how much easier it is to plant trees than high-density housing.

Lagartija Nick August 8, 2024 (6:52 pm)

Okay all you “just plant trees” smarty-pants, exactly what kind of trees would you plant? Exactly where would you put them? How do you get low income residents to fork over their hard earned cash to plant trees on their property? Exactly who maintains all these trees you “just plant”? How big do they get? How long do they live? How much water, light and nutrients do they need? Are their roots shallow, deep or invasive? Are there power lines overhead? Do they bear fruit or flowers? How messy are they? What insects do they attract? What diseases are they prone to? So no, you can’t “just plant trees”. The fact is that very few trees are really suitable for an urban environment. And it takes a long time and a lot of studying to become an arborist to know the answers to those questions. So $300k isn’t really all that much money for this study.

Duh August 8, 2024 (8:52 pm)

Besides having learned great taste in music, LN had someone who taught him critical thinking. (crack that whip🦇⚰️😘)
anonyme August 9, 2024 (6:11 am)

All of these questions are easily answerable by city arborists and others (also this thing called Google), and there are multiple programs to assist low-income homeowners. Some city/county programs provide free trees for private use as well as street trees. A neighbor of mine got a lovely Parrotia persica last year, free after attending a seminar on tree care. It’s not rocket science, and it doesn’t take an arborist (which I am) to figure out that not cutting down the trees we have is a good place to start.
- Lagartija Nick August 10, 2024 (11:29 am)
  
  That’s nice. This grant is so the city arborists CAN do the extra work for this specific project that is outside the scope of their regular operating budget. And as clearly stated my comment was specifically for the “just plant trees” crowd. But thanks for confirming that only arborists have the technical knowledge to do this project correctly.

Norsegirl August 8, 2024 (7:27 pm)

Does anyone have the link of city approved trees for planting on city right- of-way? Thanks.

WSB August 8, 2024 (8:13 pm)

https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/SDOT/PublicSpaceManagement/2015-Street_Tree_List.pdf
- WSB August 8, 2024 (8:14 pm)
  
  …at least, that was what Google brought up as top result. you might consider emailing them at 684-road@seattle.gov to ensure that’s still good.
- Norsegirl August 8, 2024 (9:58 pm)
  
  Thank you.

Noko Marie August 8, 2024 (7:58 pm)

How about stopping Sound Transit from cutting 3 acres of trees and carving off Pigeon Point? Their plans will make Delridge an even bigger heat island. Oh right, our politicians who approve of the destruction of the tree canopy for our poorer neighborhoods have a solution. Cooling centers! Wrong!

Jay August 9, 2024 (8:24 am)

They’re not going to do that, it’s misinformation spread by the anti-transit people.
Peep August 9, 2024 (9:16 am)

If you were actually concerned about dangerous heat, you’d be all in on building transit infrastructure. Instead, you’re bringing up an irrelevant gripe from the wrong end of West Seattle.
Nolan August 10, 2024 (12:17 am)

I have fantastic news for you about how much easier it is to plant trees than light rail stations.
Joe Z August 10, 2024 (7:43 am)

The light rail is tearing out a giant self storage facility on Yancy St and replacing it with a park.
- Bbron August 10, 2024 (11:04 pm)
  
  is this the car storage near Yancy? would love a link to find out more.

sbre August 8, 2024 (8:03 pm)

Another helpful tactic towards this goal is to stop letting developers and home owners remove any existing trees that are not causing major damage!

Kyle August 8, 2024 (8:03 pm)

Abstract from upcoming study: “To increase the tree canopy the city should plant and water more trees. And spend less money on studies like this that take away from funds to plant trees.”

montanapup August 8, 2024 (8:07 pm)

Want to increase tree canopy????!!!????STOP cutting down the existing trees!!! Another study to study what’s already studied and storied.

Bbron August 8, 2024 (8:12 pm)

what’s with such strong reactions to having the government plan ahead of time a project to make sure it’s successful? for those saying just plant trees, where are you planting them? do you realize that trees planted by the city need to be cared for as they grow? i living in the area, and since the 24th Ave sidewalk has completed, about 15% of the planted trees have died, so there’s obviously some difficulty. i happy there are folks in SDOT paying attention to these specific grant opportunities that will ultimately lead to more funding to undeserved places. it feels like these comments are coming from folks that don’t live in this ~250 acre area and think $300k is all that’s deserved for trees and care.

Canton August 8, 2024 (10:46 pm)

Welcome to West Seattle. I see your 4 years here have sharpened your grasp on area needs. As WSB has linked, professional arborists have already worked with the city on planting recommendations. Many years ago, when residents were being told/or opt out of getting parking strip trees, the city maintained them for awhile. We used to have watering trucks come by and water the newly planted trees. That stopped, then they went to watering bags, then they went to, no watering… Don’t get me started on pruning maintenance for all the trees they planted. They only care about these programs, while in office. They can give a flying f after that…
- anonyme August 9, 2024 (6:19 am)
  
  Trees need additional watering only until they become established after 1-2 years. There will never be a 100% survival rate, but the city could do better in terms of monitoring street trees. If you see a failing tree, call the city arborist’s office and report it. What I see fairly often is trees that have been vandalized, unfortunately.
  - Canton August 10, 2024 (11:29 pm)
    
    As you know, trees need deep, infrequent watering. You need to train a trees roots to search for the water. Regular, brief watering, only creates a shallow root system. When it relates to the city planted trees, they plant them, and then the bare minimum maintenance after that…
- Bbron August 9, 2024 (11:05 am)
  
  to be clear, I have lived in West Seattle for more than 15 years; I see folks miss the part where I said I’ve lived and walked in the outlined area for 4… the “worked with professional arborists”, you mean the tree recommendations from 2015? they still have watering trucks when taking care of new trees, ; I’m assuming they stop after some years for those particularl trees, but they still do it for projects like 24th Ave and Delridge.
  - Canton August 9, 2024 (9:25 pm)
    
    “you mean the tree recommendations from 2015″…? Tree information doesn’t need a update. Trees have acted they way they do for centuries, with plenty of books/documentation describing all of it. If the city wants to spend $300,000 dollars for a study,… How about buy a couple books for $20?? If not, I can lend them dozens of books about it, oh wait,… Those books are in the public library as well. So we can study all off it, wait for it,… FOR FREE…
    - Lagartija Nick August 10, 2024 (11:38 am)
      
      This is a State grant intended to fund a project outside of the scope of the cities regular operating budget.
    - Canton August 10, 2024 (11:03 pm)
      
      Ok. Does the state or the city, want to borrow my books? Or are they able to use public library resources?… No $300,000 study is needed, for readily available information.

Jay August 8, 2024 (9:17 pm)

Or hire an arborist and civil engineer to draw up plans for planting and the site work needed to support sidewalk shade cover. That couldn’t be more than a month of work max. Then send a crew to do it with the leftover $250,000+.

Ts August 8, 2024 (9:44 pm)

I love green, I love trees….and, Would it be possible to plant the right trees, in big enough spaces, deep enough, that we aren’t destroying sidewalks? Let’s do a few walking tours down major streets, with these people doing the study, Delridge, 35th, and California and let them try it with a walker or in a wheelchair. Thank you to the people down by the plumbing company that ran out to help my daughter back into her wheelchair. She did indeed have a concussion

Alison August 8, 2024 (10:50 pm)

Wish this grant covered more areas in West Seattle to support residential streets that aren’t able to plant/create tree canopy due to lack of curbs/boulevards/sidewalks. Would be great to see some of this funding support curb/boulevard installation to create a space where residents could plant trees.

tim August 8, 2024 (11:54 pm)

There’s huge areas along I90 that could use trees. Go plant some there.

OneTimeCharley August 9, 2024 (5:08 am)

This seems like a great time and place to mention the Seattle Trees For Neighborhoods program. Free preselected trees (some specifically already street approved by SDOT), free training on best planting/maintenance practices, pruning seminars, and help with any questions is only an email away. Get involved and get planting if you have the space, the desire, and the tenacity to care for these trees the first few years. I can tell you from experience that this is a fantastic program and the first Summer in the tree’s new home is the most intense as they really do require weekly deep soaks. Now that I know what I am looking at (I have planted six program trees, and double that on my own with site specific border trees) it absolutely breaks my heart to see healthy tree/shrubs wither and die from simple lack of watering. Most of this is down to ignorance, not lack of interest. The lot across the street from me was spilt to construct an ADU. After construction was complete, a few trees and shrubs were planted as required by code in order to get the construction permit. The new owners however were never advised (much less taught) how to care for their new landscaping. I went over and introduced myself as a friendly neighbor, then gently pointed out their great landscaping but it really needed special attention in the first few years for them to thrive later. They have diligently done the work to care for them and they have had a 100% survival rate. Contrast that with the new quadplex at 30th Ave SW and SW Cloverdale where they are running about 70% fatality rate. All because none of the new residents understand/have been shown how critical it is to maintain them for the first few years. Maybe there was a time that a tree/shrub could be plopped in the ground and that was that, but that is far, far less effective now. Come to think of it, I am going to stop there next time I pass and knock on a door or two and politely point out that some of them may yet be saved with a slow hours-long soak each. After all that difficult work planning/acquiring/executing, dramatically improving the odds of survival in the first critical years (that first Summer is soooooooooo particularly vital) is an absolute no brainer, but only for those that are shown all of this so they too can be an advocate for more canopy everywhere.

Aaron August 9, 2024 (9:03 am)

Another great example of cherry picking a data set. Their area includes most of the parking lots in the area, even two church’s and their ball courts. Westwood, Delridge businesses parking, etc. Also, since when is south of Roxbury their concern??Their “less than 25% tree canopy” area also includes Roxhill park and its public ballfields and playgrounds= no trees in a ball field duh!Look at a satellite map and it tells a different story. All the residential in that zone is well treed and green. Much of that doesn’t even have sidewalks or planting strips, so even more room for trees, and they are already there! $300,000 “study” boondoggle. That money could be better spent watering and maintaining existing vegetative infrastructure.

WSB August 9, 2024 (9:26 pm)

The area south of Roxbury that’s shown is actually part of the city (Holy Family’s block).

Mellow Kitty August 9, 2024 (10:08 am)

Related: Instead of butchering existing trees, prune them, don’t destroy them.

Tree lover August 9, 2024 (11:34 am)

22 years ago, the city offered free trees for the parking strips if you could get a few neighbors together and the minimum was 10 trees.I organized a planting party and now my neighborhood has 10 beautiful maple trees that provide lots of shade and reprieve from the hot sidewalks. The trees are gorgeous and add so much to the neighborhood.Would the city consider doing this again?

JohnnyA August 9, 2024 (12:08 pm)

Great question Tree Lover.
Yes, a simple search reveals Seattle still does offer free trees to homeowners for both the city’s planting strip and homeowners’ properties.

I marvel at the comments offering anecdotes and naive or false information regarding trees.
I am saddened that it is virtually impossible to discuss trees in Seattle in any rational manner.

Please do spend some time learning what you can do, with our city’s free trees, to increase our tree canopy?Here is the link:

https://www.seattle.gov/trees/trees-for-neighborhoods

Canton August 10, 2024 (11:15 pm)

Yes, they will provide the trees, depending on approved species. They prefer mature trees, at max height, under 30 feet planted under power lines. Of course trees don’t always abide by the books, and grow larger.

West Marge August 9, 2024 (6:39 pm)

But let’s go ahead and take out several acres of trees and homes for the light rail. Ok….

Nolan August 10, 2024 (12:14 am)

I have fantastic news for you about how much easier it is to plant trees than light rail stations.

anonyme August 10, 2024 (6:30 am)

This issue does not require a study. The problems are obvious, and have been studied ad nauseam in the past. There are also arborists on the staff of SDOT who could provide expert guidance. This study should be protested and investigated as a waste of taxpayer funds. Someone is benefiting from this, and it’s not citizens.

Bbron August 11, 2024 (6:46 am)

the rampant anti-intellectualism is surprising. especially in WA where we do so much agricultural science. https://www.umass.edu/news/article/new-study-details-strategies-successful-urban-tree-planting-initiatives like all science, tree science indeed changes; look at all the citations within the last 5 years. all these know-it-all comments an not a single ounce of substance to them. just empty cans making noise.

ㅎ August 11, 2024 (6:48 am)

I see a lot of people just yelling, “Just plant more trees, we don’t need to spend money on a study”. Unfortunately there has been a lot change recently in the field of restoration. We have learned in the 3rd world and in places of massive ecological shifts; It isn’t easy as plant trees. Most of the time that isn’t solving or fixing the situation. it actually puts more stress on the current biodiversity and environmental system than heals or maintains it. A proper canopy requires tones is time and work for all the parts to move successfully. See this article on the subject. https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/22679378/tree-planting-forest-restoration-climate-solutionsI think most people saying, “just uhh plant trees” are operating from an outdated conservative and ineffective framework of ecology that many people in the most affected bio regions and indigenous land areas have actually moving against; ‘just plant more trees’

David Moehring August 11, 2024 (12:47 pm)

Agree…, the solution is to plant more trees. Each tree runs Seattle about $3500 in 2022 dollars to plant and maintain watering over 5 summers. Seattle recently budgeted for curbs and trees in South Park industrial areas for twice the amount. A quick math exercise will yield maybe 100 trees being planted in an area where at least 1,000 medium to large urban trees would be needed to bring up from 25% to an equitable 30% canopy … excluding the current rate of annual tree loss. Planting trees does not guarantee their survival, statistically less than two-thirds survive.

Noko Marie August 12, 2024 (11:13 am)

Sound Transit has already cut 16,000 trees north of Seattle. West Seattle hosts up to one-third of Seattle’s urban tree canopy and yet, Sound Transit acknowledges they will destroy at least 2 to 3 acres of trees in West Seattle. Mitigation plans are vague or non-existent. The same applies to the heron, beaver, salmon and other irreplaceable habitats. Sound Transit WSLE DEIS states that their light rail plans will cause “irreparable” and “permanent” damage. Wake up, folks. Do we really want to destroy Pigeon Point, Longfellow Creek, and acres of trees? Delridge is already a heat island and will get much hotter. We need to write to all the politicians who live in the leafy, wealthy neighborhoods of West Seattle to honor their pledges to fight climate change.