Milton planning commission opens public hearing on proposed tree code, considers Burien-style credit system

The Milton Planning Commission opened a public hearing on March 11 for PLN 2026-0001, a proposed community forest preservation regulation intended to protect large and valuable trees, update replacement rules and permit processes, and guide an urban forest management plan. Planning manager Amandris Stahlnecker presented the draft and said staff do not expect adoption at this meeting; the commission was seeking early public input.

Why it matters: The draft would extend tree protections beyond larger development projects to some private lots, introduce definitions for 'exceptional' and 'significant' trees, and use a points-or-credits system — changes that would affect homeowners, developers and the city's canopy over time.

Residents who signed up to speak urged careful drafting. Jackie Strader, a Milton resident who owns undeveloped lots, said those parcels contain multiple large trees and warned that, as written, the draft could make such lots effectively unbuildable: "If this…