Edmonds planning board backs most tree-code amendments but withholds support for fee formula and 20‑year replacement clause

The Edmonds Planning Board on Aug. 6 recommended most of a package of minor tree-code amendments but unanimously withheld a recommendation on a single, substantive provision that would guide how the city calculates tree mitigation and caps fee-in-lieu payments.

The board voted to forward the draft code changes to the City Council while excluding paragraph 23.10.080(f) from its endorsement until staff provides further background about how the 20-year replacement expectation and the $2-per-square-foot fee cap were derived.

The issue attracted several public commenters and extended board discussion. Kathleen Sears, who identified herself as a resident and representing the citizen group Friends of Edmonds Trees, urged clearer, less vague language and proposed four specific edits to the draft. “The qualified professional must quantify their findings to the fullest extent feasible in support of the alternative calculation,” Sears read from her suggested wording, and she urged that peer review “shall undergo peer review” rather than be merely discretionary.

Residents also pressed the board about the fee-in-lieu, the composition and use of the city's tree fund, and whether peer reviewers would be hired by the city or by applicants. Planning staff explained…