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Community groups urge study to consolidate Seattle tree management under one urban forestry department
Summary
Speakers from environmental and community groups urged the council to adopt a statement of legislative intent to study consolidation of tree responsibilities now split across nine city departments, arguing it would improve canopy protection, climate resilience and accountability.
Advocates brought forward a simple but recurring request: study whether Seattle’s tree-management work should be consolidated under a single urban forestry department.
Jessica Dixon and Martha Baskin supported a council statement of legislative intent (SLI) to explore centralizing authority for trees and street-tree maintenance. Speakers said the current division of responsibilities across multiple departments creates delays and lost trees, and that a centralized expert-led unit could help the city reach its canopy and climate goals. "Over half of Seattle's trees are managed by DCI," Baskin testified, and she reported thousands of trees lost during development activity in recent years.
Multiple witnesses asked that the study be funded as an SLI and emphasized it would be a planning exercise rather than immediate regulatory change. The committee recorded the testimony; the proposed SLI and any future ordinance would require subsequent council action to create a department or change permitting authority.
