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Resident warns Sound Transit ST3 plans could remove trees along Bothell Way; Tree Board to verify counts
Summary
A Lake Forest Park resident told the Tree Board that Sound Transit’s 100% project plans for Bothell Way show wide easements that could remove or fatally damage many trees on more than 100 properties; city staff said it will verify tree counts and impacts once formal permits are submitted.
Vicki Scuri, a Lake Forest Park resident, told the city’s Tree Board she believes Sound Transit’s ST3 designs for Bothell Way undercount trees and risk large canopy loss on the west side of the road.
“they're moving in about 18 plus feet on the entire length of the west side of Bothell Way, and taking out all the landscape, basically,” Scuri said while showing excerpts from the project’s 100% plans and a tree inventory she extracted for the board. She said some private properties listed as losing only a single tree appear to have multiple mature trees within the mapped construction and temporary easement zones.
Why it matters: Scuri said the discrepancy could mean long‑term loss of street‑edge canopy, larger heat‑island effects on the west side of Bothell Way, visual changes where rockery walls and grading would be altered, and increased noise impacts. She told the board she would share the full set of plan volumes and site‑preparation documents so staff can compare them with on‑the‑ground conditions.
City staff described the current status of project filings and the verification steps the city will take. Staff said the Sound Transit materials available online represent design documents (the speaker said they were “100%” plans) and that the city will review permits and perform site visits once an application is formally submitted. A staff member explained that the permit currently is at a Notice of Application stage and that “the hearing examiner” will make final land‑use determinations for any reasonable‑use exceptions; the city’s role is to review and recommend whether permit submittals meet code requirements.
Board and resident exchanges also covered numeric details and authorities discussed in the meeting. Scuri told the board she believed “over 100 properties” on the west side could be affected; board members cited an earlier inventory (John Brew, 2023/2024 materials) reporting roughly 707 trees with 465 identified for removal in prior project documents. A staff speaker cited municipal code language about wetlands mitigation (chapter 16.16.330) and confirmed canopy coverage requirements remain subject to city code even when wetlands mitigation is proposed off‑site.
What happens next: Staff said Urban Forest Planner Christy Bishop will accompany Scuri on a site visit next week to check tree counts and inventory accuracy. City staff said the tree counts and impacts will be reassessed during the permit review process and corrected if staff find discrepancies between the plan materials and field conditions. Scuri said she will provide the board the extracted plan volumes and inventory exports for the group to examine.
The board did not take formal action on the Sound Transit materials at the meeting; members requested follow‑up briefings and documentation from staff after the scheduled site verification.
