Volunteer forest steward urges Redmond to fix gaps in draft tree-code before council introduction

David Morton, a Green Redmond forest steward, told the Redmond City Council on July 7 that significant portions of the draft tree-protection code remain placeholders or undefined and should be resolved before the draft moves to council introduction and the technical-committee process.

Morton identified four priority gaps in the drafts: a fee-in-lieu (replacement) rate still listed as a placeholder of $800 to $1,000 per tree; a central baseline table (Table 21-72-090-1) used to set required credits that remains under testing; use of the term "significant tree" throughout the code without any formal definition in the draft definitions; and a civil-penalty fine table (Section 21-72-170) that is still under review. "Fee in lieu is supposed to be a last resort but the actual rate decides whether it stays a last resort or becomes the easy way out," Morton said, urging staff to treat those placeholders as priorities for the version-2 draft expected later in the month.

Morton asked that responses to public comments be visible before the planning commission process begins in August, and noted the city’s competing goals — meeting growth-management obligations while advancing a long-range urban-tree-canopy target.

No formal action on the tree code was taken at the July 7 meeting; the planning process and a public questionnaire closing July 31 were referenced by speakers. Morton recommended that either the term "regulated tree" replace "significant tree" consistently across the draft or that "significant tree" receive a clear definition before the draft advances.