TreePAC and Friends of Seattle's Urban Forest have repeatedly supported both meeting increased housing needs and also saving and planting trees. We are opposed to clearcutting lots when we can build stacked flats on all size lots and building with common walls like Oregon allows and save trees.

Amendment 102 is not poorly written but removes the Master Builder's loophole they got in the 2023 Tree Protection Ordinance update that says "the basic tree protection area can not be reduced" during development which lets almost all trees be removed on lots.

You can have more space for trees and still have the same space for needed housing by building up with stacked flats instead of spreading out covering the whole lot. You can also build with shared walls rather than separate housing units covering a lot. Oregon advocates for this type of housing.

Trees are part of the urban forest. A healthy urban forest has a mixture of tree species and ages, understory, and provides a multitude of environmental and public health services in a neighborhood. Trees help reduce stormwater runoff which reduces pollution to Puget Sound and Lake Washington.