wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 2267 > Substitute Bill
The legislature finds that tree canopy and green space are necessary for the health and wellness of Washingtonians, and that the presence of sufficient tree canopy provides numerous benefits, including mitigating the urban heat island effect, improving air and water quality, and assisting in stormwater management. The legislature finds that it is important to retain these functions in our communities. To improve the quality of tree canopy and green space in the state, the legislature previously adopted chapter 76.15 RCW to encourage planning for, planting, maintaining, and managing trees in the state's cities, counties, and tribal lands.
It is the intent of the legislature to expand on these efforts and to provide a framework for local governments to regulate and protect local tree canopy while, at the same time, allowing for sufficient development opportunities to satisfy housing needs. The legislature intends to encourage and assist local governments in the development and use of regulations to avoid and minimize impacts to tree canopy, and to provide adequate remediation measures if impacts are unavoidable.
It is the intent of the legislature that the department of commerce produce model regulations incorporating urban forestry protections and development incentives for the protection of tree canopy to assist local governments. It is also the intent of the legislature that these model regulations be voluntary and that local governments retain discretion in choosing whether to adopt the regulations.
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The department of commerce, in consultation with other state agencies as necessary, shall produce a model urban forestry ordinance for use by local governments and provide guidance on addressing matters related to urban forestry.
The options provided for in the model ordinance must, when applicable and for a residential development of fewer than two dwelling units on a lot, first prioritize avoiding tree removal and tree canopy reduction, then minimize impacts of tree removal, then mitigate any tree removal that has occurred. For residential developments of two or more dwelling units on a lot, the options must, when applicable, first encourage avoiding tree removal and tree canopy reduction that is reasonable and capable of being accomplished without constraining proposed residential density, then minimize impacts of tree removal, then mitigate any tree removal that has occurred. The model ordinance must include sections that:
(A) Increasing the allowed building density or height;
(B) Reducing minimum required lot sizes;
(C) Reducing or eliminating landscaping requirements;
(D) Reducing or eliminating required off-street parking requirements; and
(E) Reducing open space or setback requirements other than those necessary for shoreline management areas and critical areas;
ii. Provide regulatory options for avoiding or minimizing tree removal, harm to trees that are retained during and postdevelopment, or reduction in overall tree canopy;
iii. Provide options and templates for incorporating the guidance provided under (c) of this subsection into local government ordinances; and
iv. Provide options local governments can use to mitigate, both onsite and offsite of a development, the consequences of tree removal due to the development including, but not limited to, local replanting, the use of tree banks, and fee-in-lieu programs. The options provided for tree banks must:
(A) Establish criteria for designating areas for tree banks, including that tree banks must be located within the same specified geographic boundary that is impacted by the removal of the tree or trees. The criteria should prioritize, when possible, the designation of areas for tree banks that will provide increased tree canopy in areas suffering from adverse environmental factors including, but not limited to, erosion, flooding, air or water pollution, environmental health disparities, low tree canopy, or the urban heat island effect;
(B) Using best available science, determine, at a minimum:
(I) The appropriate ratios of trees that must be planted within a tree bank to mitigate for trees removed elsewhere within a community; and
(II) The native or regionally climate-adapted species of trees to be used within the tree bank in the different ecological regions in the state.
c. The guidance provided by the department of commerce must include:
i. Criteria for using best available science and community tree canopy goals to determine trees or groups of trees that, due to their size, location, or environmental impact should be retained during development;
ii. Criteria for tree selection and siting for use by local jurisdictions in identifying native or regionally climate-adapted tree species for installation on private lots, in parks, open spaces, and within infrastructure such as public streets;
iii. Best practices for establishing, maintaining, growing, nurturing, monitoring, replacing as necessary, and securing long-term protections for trees within a local government's jurisdiction, including by:
(A) Providing estimates of the cost to establish, maintain, and nurture newly planted trees to ensure their survival;
(B) Providing alternative options for covering those costs, including through the imposition of an appropriate fee or bond related to tree removal or canopy loss during development, to ensure that funds will be available to cover the costs of maintaining and nurturing the newly planted trees;
(C) Providing an estimate of the costs of, and best practices for, long-term maintenance and protection of established trees;
(D) Providing guidance on how to ensure conservation and protection of tree banks in perpetuity, such as through the use of land acquisition, conservation easements, or other binding legal conservation agreements; and
(E) Providing guidance on a system for tracking the use of tree banks, so as to ensure individual planted trees are not counted towards mitigation for multiple removed trees or multiple development sites, and to ensure accountability for the conservation and protection of the tree bank;
iv. Best practices for implementing a program for the planting of and care for trees, including through partnering with arboreal, conservation, or stewardship organizations;
v. Guidance on internal resource needs of the local government for planting and caring for trees within the local government's jurisdiction;
vi. Guidance on estimating the fiscal benefits of tree canopy retention within a jurisdiction including, but not limited to, benefits from stormwater mitigation, improving air quality, energy conservation, reducing the urban heat island effect, and improving quality of life due to the health cobenefits; and
vii. Guidance using the best available science on how jurisdictions can determine minimum tree canopy coverage goals, taking into account local geographic and climate differences.
d. The department of commerce must ensure that the model ordinance and guidance are consistent with municipal stormwater permit requirements.
The department of commerce must produce the initial model ordinance and guidance by January 1, 2029. Thereafter, the department of commerce shall review and revise the model ordinance and guidance as necessary to ensure that the model ordinance and guidance represent effective and actionable means of protecting trees and preserving tree canopy while enabling needed urban development. The department of commerce shall conduct a review at least every 10 years.
For the purposes of this section:
"Tree bank" means an area or areas designated by a community wherein trees can be planted to compensate for the removal of trees elsewhere, in order to maintain overall tree canopy and create more ecologically sound systems. Tree banks may include public rights-of-way, public lands, and private property with the agreement of the landowners and a recorded covenant protecting the trees. Tree banks are intended to grow new trees or expand tree canopy where it does not currently exist. Existing trees within the area of a tree bank may not be included when determining whether the addition of trees to the tree bank has fully mitigated the removal of trees elsewhere. Tree banks may also include programs providing for the payment of a fee in lieu of physically planting the trees, to be used by the jurisdiction to plant trees in appropriate areas as determined by the criteria provided in accordance with subsection (1)(c)(i) of this section.
"Urban heat island" means an urban area which, due to the built environment and the lack of trees and other vegetation, experiences significantly high temperatures, particularly during the summer.
The department shall establish a program of technical and financial assistance and incentives to counties and cities to encourage and facilitate the adoption and implementation of comprehensive plans and development regulations throughout the state.
The department shall develop a priority list and establish funding levels for planning and technical assistance grants both for counties and cities that plan under RCW 36.70A.040. Priority for assistance shall be based on a county's or city's population growth rates, commercial and industrial development rates, the existence and quality of a comprehensive plan and development regulations, the presence of overburdened communities, and other relevant factors. The department shall establish funding levels for grants to community-based organizations for the specific purpose of advancing participation of vulnerable populations and overburdened communities in the planning process.
The department shall develop and administer a grant program to provide direct financial assistance to counties and cities for the preparation of comprehensive plans under this chapter. The department may establish provisions for county and city matching funds to conduct activities under this subsection. Grants may be expended for any purpose directly related to the preparation of a county or city comprehensive plan as the county or city and the department may agree, including, without limitation, the conducting of surveys, inventories and other data gathering and management activities, the retention of planning consultants, contracts with regional councils for planning and related services, and other related purposes.
The department shall establish a program of technical assistance:
Utilizing department staff, the staff of other state agencies, and the technical resources of counties and cities to help in the development of comprehensive plans required under this chapter. The technical assistance may include, but not be limited to, model land use ordinances, regional education and training programs, and information for local and regional inventories; and
Adopting by rule procedural criteria to assist counties and cities in adopting comprehensive plans and development regulations that meet the goals and requirements of this chapter. These criteria shall reflect regional and local variations and the diversity that exists among different counties and cities that plan under this chapter.
The department shall provide mediation services to resolve disputes between counties and cities regarding, among other things, coordination of regional issues and designation of urban growth areas.
The department shall provide services to facilitate the timely resolution of disputes between a federally recognized Indian tribe and a city or county.
A federally recognized Indian tribe may request the department to provide facilitation services to resolve issues of concern with a proposed comprehensive plan and its development regulations, or any amendment to the comprehensive plan and its development regulations.
Upon receipt of a request from a tribe, the department shall notify the city or county of the request and offer to assist in providing facilitation services to encourage resolution before adoption of the proposed comprehensive plan. Upon receipt of the notice from the department, the city or county must delay any final action to adopt any comprehensive plan or any amendment or its development regulations for at least 60 days. The tribe and the city or county may jointly agree to extend this period by notifying the department. A county or city must not be penalized for noncompliance under this chapter due to any delays associated with this process.
Upon receipt of a request, the department shall provide comments to the county or city including a summary and supporting materials regarding the tribe's concerns. The county or city may either agree to amend the comprehensive plan as requested consistent with the comments from the department, or enter into a facilitated process with the tribe, which must be arranged by the department using a suitable expert to be paid by the department. This facilitated process may also extend the 60-day delay of adoption, upon agreement of the tribe and the city or county.
At the end of the 60-day period, unless by agreement there is an extension of the 60-day period, the city or county may proceed with adoption of the proposed comprehensive plan and development regulations. The facilitator shall write a report of findings describing the basis for agreements or disagreements that occurred during the process that are allowed to be disclosed by the parties and the resulting agreed-upon elements of the plan to be amended.
The department shall provide planning grants to enhance citizen participation under RCW 36.70A.140.
The department shall develop, in collaboration with the department of ecology, the department of fish and wildlife, the department of natural resources, the department of health, the emergency management division of the military department, as well as any federally recognized tribe who chooses to voluntarily participate, and adopt by rule guidance that creates a model climate change and resiliency element that may be used by counties, cities, and multiple-county planning regions for developing and implementing climate change and resiliency plans and policies required by RCW 36.70A.070(9), subject to the following provisions:
The model element must establish minimum requirements, and may include model options or voluntary cross-jurisdictional strategies, or both, for fulfilling the requirements of RCW 36.70A.070(9);
The model element should provide guidance on identifying, designing, and investing in infrastructure that supports community resilience to climate impacts, including the protection, restoration, and enhancement of natural infrastructure as well as traditional infrastructure and protecting and enhancing natural areas to foster resiliency to climate impacts, including through measures such as the adoption of a model urban forestry ordinance created pursuant to section 2 of this act, as well as areas of vital habitat for safe passage and species migration;
The model element should provide guidance on identifying and addressing natural hazards created or aggravated by climate change, including sea level rise, landslides, flooding, drought, heat, smoke, wildfires, and other effects of reasonably anticipated changes to temperature and precipitation patterns; and
The rule must recognize and promote as many cobenefits of climate resilience as possible such as climate change mitigation, salmon recovery, forest health, ecosystem services, and socioeconomic health and resilience.