Yakima, WA Tree Protection: Tree Replacement Requirements (2026)

Under YMC Chapter 8.77, when a street tree is replanted or replaced, no species other than those included on the City's approved street trees species list may be planted without written permission of the Tree Board. Minimum spacing depends on the size class of the species: small trees, 30 feet; medium trees, 40 feet; large trees, 50 feet — except in special plantings designed or approved by a landscape architect. The Yakima Tree Board reviews the approved list and provides the city arborist and Director with recommendations on additions or removals. For commercial / multi-family parking under YMC Chapter 15.06 (Off-Street Parking and Loading), parking and vehicle storage lots with five or more spaces must devote 10% of the total parking area to landscaping, with a minimum planting area of 24 square feet (with the exception of raised planter boxes around buildings), and one tree from the approved list shall be planted for every fifteen single-row parking stalls. Sitescreening replacement under YMC 15.07 must continue to meet Standard B's living-evergreen-screen requirement (six feet within three years) or Standard C's six-foot-high view-obscuring fence option. Removal of a city tree under the Tree Board process typically requires replacement consistent with the city's tree management plan; specific in-kind appraisal valuation is not codified in YMC 8.77.