Edmonds Planning Board Regular Meeting Summary – July 27, 2026

The Edmonds Planning Board met on July 27, 2026, per the timestamp provided with the source materials; the agenda and transcript identify the meeting as July 22, 2026. The hybrid regular meeting was called to order at 7:04 p.m. in the Brackett Room at Edmonds City Hall. The Board approved the July 8, 2026 minutes, heard five public comments on the 2026 Tree Code Update (Project #AMD2026-0001), and made several decisions on tree density credits, replacement credits, fee-in-lieu, and penalties. Several Tree Code items were deferred to the August 5 public hearing and August 12 meeting, and the Westgate Neighborhood Center map item was deferred to August 12.

Approval of Minutes

• The Board approved the July 8, 2026 minutes with edits circulated by Judy Gladstone; the vote was unanimous in favor, with one abstention (John Elkey).

Public Comments & Testimony

• Kathleen Sears (Edmonds resident): Recommended adding minimum tree-retention requirements for non-development properties (at least one landmark tree or three significant trees) and for development properties; supported a requirement that at least 50% of required tree-density credits be met by retained trees; urged that fee-in-lieu be used only as a last resort and that claims that minimums cannot be met be verified by city staff.
• Another Edmonds resident (name not stated): Asked for formal definitions of development and non-development using a 500-square-foot disturbance threshold; recommended consistent use of those terms; recommended that hazard-tree assessments be made by an ISA Certified Arborist with Tree Risk Assessment Qualification.
• Kyle McIntyre (Edmonds homeowner): Opposed the subcommittee's $750-per-credit fee-in-lieu, saying it was too low and below the current code's mitigation value; supported $1,400 per credit or more; urged requiring applicants to maximize on-site retention and exhaust on-site replacement options before fee-in-lieu is approved; cited current-code calculations including an 8,500-square-foot lot capped at $4 per square foot equating to $34,000.
• Tom Herskey (Edmonds resident; Bowitt): Supported a 24-inch landmark-tree threshold plus a landmark-tree species list, with those species counted at 10 credits for retention and replacement; supported added credit tiers for larger trees but not a 1.5 multiplier for native conifers; supported two replacement credits for native conifers; recommended a four-tier replacement schedule with landmark trees and species-list trees requiring four replacements.
• Deborah Ashland (Edmonds resident; FOET): Supported the subcommittee's tiered low-density residential tree-density credits as a compromise, but recommended credits 20% higher (for example, 132 credits per acre for a one-unit lot); accepted 30 credits per acre for commercial and mixed use but recommended 44 credits per acre for multifamily; noted the upcoming public hearing on August 5.

Discussion Items – 2026 Tree Code Update

Landmark Tree Replacement Schedule

• Board members noted the replacement schedule applies mainly to nuisance-tree removals, because landmark trees are otherwise protected from removal, and that hazard-tree removals do not require replacement.
• A motion to apply the four-to-one replacement tier to all landmark trees, regardless of diameter, passed unanimously. This revised the subcommittee's over-24-inch-DBH trigger.

Tree Density Credits for Low-Density Residential

• The Board adopted the subcommittee's low-density residential tree-density-credit scale and minimums. As described during discussion, the tiers are 110 credits per acre for single-unit sites, 88 credits per acre for two-to-three-unit sites, and 66 credits per acre for four-unit sites.
• One public commenter described the tiers as 110 credits for one unit, 88 for two units, and 66 for three-to-four units; the Board discussion used the one-unit / two-to-three-unit / four-unit grouping.

Retention Priority and 50% Minimum

• After debating whether the priority section alone would prevent a developer from removing most existing trees, the Board voted to remove from the subcommittee package the proposed requirement that 50% of tree-density credits be met by retained trees.
• The removal was paired with direction to revise the priority and retention language so the operation of tree density credits and the emphasis on retention are clear.

Commercial, Mixed-Use, and Multifamily Tree Density Credits

• The subcommittee had proposed 30 credits per acre for commercial, mixed-use, and multifamily sites.
• The Board voted to follow staff's recommendation instead, leaving those site types to existing landscaping requirements rather than adopting a separate tree-density-credit requirement. Judy and John abstained.

Existing Tree Credit Table

• The Board adopted the revised existing-tree credit table as amended: 26-inch trees = 10 credits, 28-inch trees = 11 credits, and trees 30 inches and above = 12 credits.
• The amendment avoided the skipped 28-inch increment in the subcommittee's proposed table.

Replacement Tree Credits

• The Board adopted a motion allowing two replacement credits for preferred trees identified by staff, with native conifers explicitly included at a minimum.
• The landmark-tree species list was not included because many of those species are difficult to plant successfully.

Fee-in-Lieu and Penalties

• Members discussed the subcommittee's $750 recommendation, staff's earlier $1,000 figure, the $1,400 figure supported by FOET, and the current code's $2,500-per-tree/appraisal structure with a $4-per-square-foot cap.
• A motion to set fee-in-lieu at $1,000 per credit failed with five nays.
• The Board then adopted $1,600 per tree-density credit, based in part on dividing the current $34,000 maximum fee-in-lieu for an 8,500-square-foot lot by the 21 credits required on that lot, which yields roughly $1,619 per credit.
• The same motion directed that penalties be revised to double the fee-in-lieu amount, following the same scale. The motion passed with one nay.

Fee-in-Lieu Cap

• The Board voted to remove the existing fee-in-lieu cap of $4 per square foot of lot area.
• The motion passed despite some nays and two abstentions.

Unresolved Items and August Schedule

• The Board confirmed that site improvements over 500 square feet should follow the tree-density-credit thresholds tied to the number of dwelling units on the lot (for example, 110 credits for a single-unit lot and 88 credits for a lot with an ADU/two units).
• Items left for the August 5 public hearing or August 12 meeting include conservation subdivisions, forest management plans, and maintenance agreement versus bond requirements.
• The Board's Tree Code recommendation is expected to be transmitted to the City Council for its August 11 meeting.

Westgate Neighborhood Center Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map and Zoning Map (Second Reading)

• Listed on the agenda as a second reading, the Westgate future land use map and zoning map amendments were not acted on due to time.
• Staff said the item would be taken up at the August 12 Planning Board meeting for discussion and recommendation; it would not have a Planning Board public hearing, but the City Council would hold one.
• The map amendments will be part of the Comprehensive Plan docket and combined into one ordinance before council adoption.

Key Outcomes

• Approved July 8, 2026 minutes with one abstention.
• Applied the four-to-one replacement tier to all landmark trees, regardless of diameter.
• Adopted the low-density residential tree-density-credit table of 110 / 88 / 66 credits per acre.
• Removed the proposed 50% retention minimum and directed clearer retention-priority and tree-density-credit language.
• Followed staff's landscaping-requirements approach for commercial, mixed-use, and multifamily sites rather than adding a separate 30-credit-per-acre requirement.
• Adopted existing-tree credits of 10 at 26 inches, 11 at 28 inches, and 12 at 30 inches and above.
• Allowed two replacement credits for preferred tree species, including native conifers.
• Set fee-in-lieu at $1,600 per tree-density credit and directed penalties to be double the fee-in-lieu amount.
• Removed the $4-per-square-foot fee-in-lieu cap.
• Deferred action on conservation subdivisions, forest management plans, maintenance agreement versus bond, and the Westgate map item to upcoming meetings.