Bird and Nature Advocates Needed for Comments on Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan Update

Seattle Skyline | Photo by Luke Franke

October 2025 update: Key tree-friendly amendment moves forward.

Last month we sent an action alert urging bird and tree advocates to contact Seattle City Councilmembers in support of tree-friendly amendments to the city’s Comprehensive Plan.

Hundreds of advocates responded, and the council committee took notice, voting to advance a revised version of Amendment 102 to the full council for approval.

What the revised amendment would do:

First, it would consolidate the definition of “tree protection area,” a key concept for determining when trees may be removed, while adding flexibility to ensure more healthy trees are protected.

And second, it would eliminate loopholes that could allow tree removal for unnecessary driveways, pavement, and other non-essential reasons. 

What changed in committee?

A last-minute revision removed a provision that would have authorized the City to request alternate site plans when development permit applicants could build the same number/size of dwelling units while retaining more regulated trees through different lot configurations. 

This change was made in response to concerns that the provision could be applied arbitrarily, creating uncertainty, delays, and increased costs for housing development. 

What’s next?

The full City Council will consider the amendment in November. We’ll keep you updated and let you know if further action is needed.

September 2025 update: Comments needed to protect trees.

Seattle City Council will hold a public hearing on Friday, September 12, 2025, regarding the Comprehensive Plan Update. Please urge your councilmembers to revise and adopt amendments that will help Seattle stay green as it grows.

Learn more about the key amendments below.

Key Amendments

Amendment 93: Neighborhood Residential Tree Planting Requirements

What it does: This amendment would guarantee a minimum tree planting area to give trees the room they need to survive and thrive. Without it, restricted root zones and conflicts with infrastructure will continue to stress and kill trees.

This amendment also revises requirements for tree retention and replanting on redeveloped lots. The intent here is sound—incentivize preservation and planting of large trees—but the current proposal works backward, awarding more points for preserving fewer trees.

Our position: Support with revisions. We recommend revising the tree point table to ensure that at minimum, the equivalent of one 24-inch diameter large-stature tree must be preserved or replanted on every lot.

Amendment 102: SDCI alternative site plan authority and procedural discretion for development that encroaches on tree protection areas

What it does: This amendment would streamline the tree protection ordinance by creating a single, more flexible definition of “tree protection area,” a key concept that determines whether protected trees may be removed during development.

The amendment would also give the City discretion to request alternative project designs from developers when a comparable number of units could be built while retaining more trees.

Our position: Support.

January 2025 update: Mayor transmits preferred draft Comprehensive Plan to Seattle City Council.

In January 2025, Mayor Bruce Harrell transmitted his preferred draft of the updated Comprehensive Plan to Seattle City Council.

Of the 36 recommendations Birds Connect Seattle submitted relating to equitable tree canopy and nature conservation, only ten were incorporated in the Mayor’s latest draft. Now Seattle City Council has its turn to amend the plan. Join us in telling Seattle City Councilmembers that we must do more to address environmental injustices, preserve mature trees, and reduce hazards to wildlife.

Background Information

What is a comprehensive plan?

Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan is the central guiding document for how and where the city will grow and invest its resources. Seattle is required by Washington State’s Growth Management Act to enact a comprehensive plan and to update it every ten years. Our current Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2016. This is its first major update.

The Growth Management Act requires a comprehensive plan to contain certain elements such as land use, housing, and climate change and resiliency. Other elements, including nature conservation, are optional. The fact that conservation is an optional element makes it all the more important that bird and nature advocates participate and give voice to wildlife.

You can read more about comprehenive plans in Washington here.

Why is it important?

A comprehensive plan establishes the aspirations of a city and sets its direction. While the goals and policies it sets are not mandates or guarantees, they are intended to guide day-to-day decision making of city leaders, and city policy must be broadly consistent the plan. Where policies are not consistent, they can be brought to dispute at the Washington State Growth Management Hearings Board. This provides some legal teeth and accountability for cities to move toward goals established in their comprehensive plans.

Want to learn more?

Check out the recording of our online event about the draft Comprehensive Plan update:

A bird advocate’s guide to commenting on the 2024 draft Comprehensive Plan Update (recording available)

Birds Connect Seattle’s Urban Conservation Manager, Joshua Morris, provided an overview of Seattle’s draft 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update from the perspective of an urban bird and nature conservationist and shared ideas and resources for developing comments.

Click here to view the recording.

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