Tree Ordinance and Street Tree Manual Standards and Specifications

The Seattle Department of Transportation’s Urban Forestry Section is proposing an update to the current Street Tree Ordinance, which was last revised in February of 1961 (Ordinance #90047).  This document was drafted with input from an advisory panel consisting of citizens, commercial arborists and city staff from several departments.  The intent of the ordinance update is to provide greater protection to street trees, and to codify current policies and procedures.

We are in the process of revising the Street Tree Ordinance.  The public outreach portion of this process is now concluded.  The next steps include briefing the Urban Forestry Commission and the Mayor’s office.

Frequently Asked Questions:

The feedback and questions that came from our community outreach meetings will be summarized and will be posted here in the near future. Please continue to check this site for additional information on or by March 31, 2012.