Lake Forest Park Buys 5 Acre Woods from Seattle Public Utilities for Park

Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 29, 2017 Lake Forest Park and City of Seattle Come Together to Save 5 Acre Woods September 28: After two years of intense negotiation and advocacy by community groups, the Lake Forest Park City … Continue reading

Make Developers Pay for Tree Canopy Loss!

Action Alert –  TreePAC.org and Friends of Seattle’s Urban Forest With the tremendous growth going on in Seattle, trees are more threatened than ever. Developers are clamoring for fewer restrictions and are winning as the Seattle City Council continues to … Continue reading

Seattle Urban Forestry Commission – Comments on Design Review Improvements – CB119057

Seattle Urban Forestry Commission Tom Early, Chair • Steve Zemke, Vice-Chair Weston Brinkley • Leif Fixen • Megan Herzog • Craig Johnson Joanna Nelson de Flores • Sarah Rehder • Andrew Zellers September 13, 2017. Councilmember Rob Johnson City Hall … Continue reading

Concerns about CB 119057 modifying Seattle design review process

Concerns about CB 119057 modifying design review process Testimony before Seattle City Council Planning, Land Use and Zoning Committee Sept 11. 2017 Steve Zemke – Chair – Friends of Seattle’s Urban Forest and TreePAC CB 119057 was submitted to the … Continue reading

Mandatory Housing Affordability Draft EIS Comments

MHA Draft EIS Comments by Friends of Seattle’s Urban Forest August 7, 2017 From Steve Zemke – Chair Friends of Seattle’s Urban Forest To:  Office of Planning and Community Development Attn: MHA EIS PO Box 34019 Seattle, WA 98124-4019 The … Continue reading

Seattle Urban Forestry Commission Raises Questions about Mandatory Housing Affordability Draft EIS

The Seattle Urban Forestry Commission has issued the following comments in response to the Mandatory Housing Affordability Draft EIS. Comments are due by August 7, 2017. The letter below is the text of the letter dated August 2, 2017. August … Continue reading

Seattle Tree Ordinance Update Priorities – 2017

In 2009, the Seattle City Council issued Resolution 31138 instructing “…the Department of Planning and Development to submit legislation by May 2010 to establish a comprehensive set of regulations and incentives to limit the removal of trees and promote the … Continue reading

Seattle Needs to Require Developers to do Urban Forestry Canopy Impacts Assessments

The Seattle Urban Forestry Commission in 2014 recommended that its Department of Planning and Development require project developers to complete urban forestry canopy impact assessments. Seattle’s growth and property development and building is continuing at breakneck speed and impacting Seattle’s … Continue reading

Comments on Natural Area and Greenbelt Supplemental Use Guidelines

The following comments were delivered by Steve Zemke, Chair of the Friends of Seattle’s Urban Forest to the Seattle Parks Board on June 25, 2015. The Seattle Parks Department is proposing to open up long protected natural areas and greenbelts … Continue reading