Rather than protecting trees during development, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels says, city code in some cases encouraged their destruction before the building even began. Nickels on Monday proposed closing a legal "loophole" with temporary rules that would prevent builders from clearing trees before filing for a building permit.
Under the current code, the city can only designate trees for protection after a developer has applied for a permit. Some builders have chosen to cut down trees before filing a permit.
Nickels' proposal comes two weeks after a judge stopped Seattle Public Schools from cutting down 63 trees at Ingraham High School.
The school district had applied for a permit, then withdrew the application, saying that without filing a permit, city code allowed the district to eliminate the trees.
The issue wound up in court, and now the Ingraham tree-cutting is on hold until the school district applies for another permit.
It's not certain whether Nickels' proposal would save the trees at Ingraham.
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The painting is by Laura Tasheiko
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