Urban Forestry Program
Overview
Snohomish’s urban forest is an important resource to the City and its residents. Trees provide a multitude of physical, environmental, aesthetic, and economic benefits. The Urban Forestry Program is a comprehensive guide to all things plants and planting in the city. The plan will inventory existing tree coverage and identify areas where increased coverage is needed.
The Urban Forestry Program includes multiple separate plans and projects, described in more detail below. The first step was a tree inventory, which was completed in the spring of 2023 through a grant from the Department of Natural Resources Urban and Community Forestry Program. An interactive map can be viewed by clicking the link below.
The next step is a Planting Prioritization Plan, Tree Management Plan, and Tree Planting Standards.
Successful adoption of the urban forestry program also provides the framework necessary to receive Tree City USA recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation and is consistent with the City Council's goal to foster environmental resiliency and sustainability. establish a tree mitigation fund and framework for how the funds will be utilized. Plant species for all work within the right of way will be included to ensure the right plants are being located in the right area for low maintenance, environmental sustainability, and visual appeal. It will work in conjunction with the Complete Streets Project to require attractive streetscapes that are easy to maintain.
The project goals are to improve processes and public access, close gaps in tree-related policies and regulation, and ultimately apply for Tree City USA recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation.
In order to meet these goals, the following work items are planned for 2022 and 2023:
- Planting Prioritization Plan
- Tree Management Plan
- Planting Standards
- Tree Code Update; Chapter 14.240 SMC
Tree Inventory
The City was awarded the Community Forestry grant from the Department of Natural Resources in order to conduct an inventory of all trees in the public right-of-way as well as in select parks and City properties. Trees located on private property will not be included. Basic information about each tree have been collected and mapped. This includes species, diameter, height, and a basic health assessment.
Planting Prioritization Plan
The information in the tree inventory will establish baseline conditions of the City’s urban forest. This is vital to the next step, which is a Planting Prioritization Plan. This plan will identify areas with unequal access to trees, so that future planting efforts can be focused in those areas.
Tree Management Plan
The health assessment information learned from the tree inventory will be classified into different categories: excellent, good, fair, poor, critical, and dead. This information will determine the schedule for maintenance activities. Moving forward, ongoing management will be based on the classification.
Tree Code
All of the planning efforts to inventory, prioritize, and coordinate urban forestry in the city will culminate in an update to the tree code beginning in 2023. The existing code is Chapter 14.210 SMC. Tree regulations are combined with fences and retaining walls, as well as development standards for site landscaping. The tree retention standards comprise a small portion of the chapter, and are not easy to understand or administer.
Policy decisions will need to be made about how to regulate and process tree-related management proposals, and the public will be asked to weigh in. Information about future meetings will be available on this page, so stay tuned and be sure to participate in the discussions.
Public Access and Resources
Funding to support this project was provided by the State of Washington Department of Natural Resources Urban and Community Forestry Program.