Tree Protection in Washington (2026)

Seattle designates heritage trees as Tier 1 under SMC 25.11.050 and bars removing or topping them on any lot, developed…

The City of Lacey keeps a register of historical trees and bars anyone from removing one. Removal requires a land…

Lakewood, Washington, in Pierce County, lets any tree be designated a heritage tree for historical, cultural or…

Lynnwood lets property owners nominate an exceptional tree for heritage status under LMC 17.15.070, and once the parks…

The City of Olympia, Washington keeps a register of landmark trees under OMC Chapter 16.56. Anyone can nominate a tree…

Port Townsend designates special trees as landmark trees, protecting them from cutting or major pruning without the…

Renton requires a land development or routine vegetation management permit before removing a landmark tree, defined as…

Shoreline's tree conservation code recognizes a 'landmark tree' as any healthy tree over 24 inches in diameter with…

Removing a landmark tree in Bellevue needs a clearing and grading permit and triggers replanting: three replacement…

Edmonds runs no separate heritage or landmark tree registry. Instead, ECDC 17.130.020 defines a "specimen tree" as one…

Kirkland classifies any regulated tree with a trunk 26 inches or more in diameter as a landmark tree, and KZC 95.23…

Puyallup lets a property owner voluntarily nominate a tree for its heritage tree registry under PMC § 20.58.025, based…

Thurston County requires 70% retention of heritage trees (40+ inch DBH or culturally significant) on forest-practice…

Whatcom County has no landmark-tree designation program, but inside the Lake Whatcom Watershed Overlay District it…

Tacoma's Heritage Tree Program lets a property owner, or a resident with the owner's consent, nominate an exceptionally…

Everett bars pruning or cutting any tree in a critical area buffer that is an active nest site for a species of local…

Seattle's overhauled Tree Protection Ordinance, SMC 25.11 (effective 2023), creates a tiered system. Tier 1 exceptional…

ECDC 17.130.050 bars removing any "protected tree," one designated for retention on an approved plan or permanently…

Lakewood, Washington singles out the Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) for protection wherever it grows in the city…

Pierce County treats Oregon white oak trees and woodlands as priority wildlife habitat, not ordinary landscaping. A…

In the City of Shoreline, trees the City designates as landmark trees under SMC § 20.50.350(F), generally 30 inches or…

Skagit County's critical areas code designates nest and roost trees for great blue herons, ospreys, pileated…

Bellingham protects trees by size, not species: any tree six inches or more in diameter counts as a 'significant tree'…

In the City of Bothell, Washington, tree protection under Bothell Municipal Code § 12.18.030 turns on size, not…

Renton's tree code protects any 'significant tree,' six inches caliper or larger (eight inches for alder and…

Inside Tacoma's designated Biodiversity Areas, a conifer over 30 inches DBH or a madrone over 12 inches DBH counts as…

In unincorporated King County, no one may plant trees, shrubs or other objects in the road right-of-way planting strip…

Auburn requires city engineer permission before anyone plants or removes a tree or shrub in a public parking strip…

Bellevue requires street landscaping and tree planting along public streets whenever street frontage improvements are…

Planting a tree or other vegetation in Bellingham's street planting strip, the right-of-way area between curb and…

In the City of Bothell, Washington, Bothell Municipal Code § 12.18.050 requires landscaping inside street rights-of-way…

Planting, removing or pruning any tree in an Edmonds street right-of-way, parking strip or planting strip requires a…

Everett's parks and recreation director runs the city's public tree management program, which sets planting standards…

Federal Way requires a right-of-way permit before anyone plants, prunes, removes, or otherwise works on vegetation…

New street trees in Kent's planting strips must come from the director-approved official tree planting list, chosen for…

Kirkland requires street trees spaced 30 feet on-center in the landscape strip between curb and sidewalk on improved…

Kitsap County requires street trees along all public and private streets classified as principal or minor arterial…

In the City of Lacey, Washington, planting any street tree requires a right-of-way access permit from Public Works…

Lakewood requires street trees at least 3 inches in diameter at planting, placed within the street right-of-way under…

Lynnwood calls the parkway strip between the sidewalk and the street a "planting strip," and it requires the abutting…

Marysville requires street trees along every city street and access easement on new development, planted at a minimum…

In the Mixed Use district of the Belfair Urban Growth Area, in unincorporated Mason County, new development along…

In the City of Olympia, Washington, wherever a paved street has a parking strip, trees must be planted under Olympia…

In the Broadmoor Overlay District, PMC 25.97.095(2) requires street trees along every public street frontage, spaced no…

Unincorporated Pierce County requires street trees along both sides of urban roads under PCC 18J.15.050, spaced at one…

Port Townsend residents need a no-fee public works permit to plant a tree in the street right-of-way, and planting…

Puyallup Municipal Code § 11.28.030 requires street trees along the frontage of new commercial, industrial and…

Renton requires at least one street tree per lot planted in the right-of-way planting strip between curb and sidewalk…

Seattle requires street trees for any development adding a dwelling unit under SMC 23.44.120.G. SDCI's Director and the…

In the City of Shoreline, developments that trigger frontage improvements under Chapter 20.70 SMC must plant street…

In unincorporated Skagit County, commercial and industrial developments must install street-frontage landscaping under…

Unincorporated Snohomish County requires street trees as a frontage improvement on new development under SCC…

Spokane County's urban design standards set specific numbers for street trees planted along sidewalks in mixed-use zone…

Spokane Valley requires one medium tree or larger for every 75 linear feet of street frontage on multifamily…

Tacoma requires a City street tree permit before anyone plants a tree in the planting strip or other public…

Within the Olympia Urban Growth Area, Thurston County requires street trees as part of frontage improvements on…

Yakima sets exact planting rules for street trees in the curb parkway strip: minimum spacing by tree size and minimum…

Yakima County requires street-facing landscaping, including trees spaced no more than 30 feet apart, on new development…

Chelan County's Peshastin Urban Growth Area planned-development rules, Code § 11.22.050(5)(B)(iii), give a density…

When there's an adopted street tree plan for the adjacent road, Whatcom County can require developers to plant street…