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Surface-water staff propose city-owned tree-preservation program, outline parcel transfers and rate scenarios
Summary
Surface Water Manager Tyler Beley outlined a three-phase tree-preservation program tied to a new Department of Ecology stormwater permit: staff mapped canopy (29% citywide, 16% on city land), identified roughly 70 parcels for possible transfer and easement, and presented funding options including stormwater utility rate increases and an $80,000 state grant for consultant work.
Tyler Beley, the city’s surface water manager, told the council the update to the Department of Ecology stormwater permit prompted a citywide review of trees that reduce stormwater impacts and improve water quality. Beley said staff completed a canopy map showing 29% tree canopy citywide and about 16% of that canopy on city-owned parcels.
Beley said staff defined the program around "tree clusters"—overlapping canopy areas larger than 10,000 square feet that provide measurable water-quality benefits. Using GIS analysis and consultant work with Parametrics, staff identified about 70 city parcels eligible for full transfer from the general fund to the stormwater utility, totaling roughly 173 acres of canopy; the utility already owns about 40 additional acres, bringing the total potential managed canopy to about 200 acres. Four parcels, mainly around the beach park, were listed as candidates for partial transfers or easements because they contain trails or built infrastructure.
On costs, Beley presented the city’s current reactive maintenance baseline as roughly $330 per acre annually (cleanup, hazard trees, invasive removal), an additional $75 per acre for encampment cleanup, and combined ownership costs that aggregate to about $744 per acre per year. Working with financial consultant FCS Group, staff modeled stormwater utility rate-change scenarios: a one-time 5% increase could generate about $300,000 annually and allow management of roughly 403 acres; a 2.5% increase would yield about $150,000 annually and would fund roughly 200 acres; a 1.5% increase would produce about $90,000 annually. Beley also estimated average residential impacts of roughly $20/year at 5%, $9.58/year at 2.5%, and $5.74/year at 1.5% for a typical property.
Beley said staff applied for a Washington State Department of Commerce grant in November 2025 and requested the full $80,000 to fund consultant scope that includes an arborist-led baseline canopy-health assessment, a forest operations and maintenance plan, updated implementation costs, and recommendations on staffing versus contracting. Parametrics will return under that grant scope; staff expect to present those findings to council in fall or winter 2026 before any final parcel transfers or utility rate decisions.
Council members asked for more detail on how parcel transfers would affect general-fund maintenance budgets and on next steps to expand protections to private property. Council member Harris asked whether transferring parcels to the utility would reduce general-fund costs; Beley said property tax and maintenance responsibilities would shift to the utility and that staff would return with a clearer cost reconciliation. Beley stressed the program’s staged approach and that the final implementation timeline remains flexible; the Department of Ecology requirements are due by the end of 2028.
The council did not take a final vote on parcel transfers or rate increases; staff were directed to return with a detailed parcel-transfer list, a clearer breakdown of general-fund savings, and the consultant scope for review later this year.
