BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Bellingham’s largest and most significant trees will continue to be protected throughout the winter, much to the dismay of local developers.
The Bellingham City Council approved a six-month extension of the interim landmark tree ordinance at its meeting on Oct. 21. The order prevents any healthy tree with a trunk diameter of 36 inches or more from being cut down.
But the city’s Director of Planning and Community Development Blake Lyon says they need more time to balance concerns from developers before creating a permanent ordinance.
“It also is placing a pretty heavy burden, an upfront burden, on development activity in terms of the amount of effort that needs to go in to determine if a project is viable, and so that is certainly something that we didn’t anticipate the full impact of,” Lyon said at the meeting.
Ali Taysi, a local developer with AVT Consulting who spoke to the council during the public comment period, says that having to plan around protected trees has delayed housing projects.
“The ordinance is adding significant uncertainty to design and development processes, increasing costs and generating processing delays,” Taysi said. “People are frustrated, they’re scared to engage in development, they’re walking away from development opportunities in our community because of this.”
Anyone who removes a protected tree faces a fine of $800 to $5,000 for each instance.
The emergency ordinance was first approved in May and initially scheduled for six months. It’s now set to expire on May 19, 2025, though the council could choose to extend it again.
Click here to nominate a landmark tree or report a violation.
