Ordinance 4200CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON
ORDINANCE NO.4200
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON,
ESTABLISHING AN EMERGENCY MORATORIUM ON THE
ACCEPTANCE OF ANY SUBDIVISION APPLICATION FOR ANY
PROPERTY THAT CONTAINS MORE THAN EIGHT SIGNIFICANT
TREES PER 10,000 SQUARE FEET OF LOT AREA TO BE IN EFFECT
UNTIL THE CITY OF EDMONDS ADOPTS UPDATED TREE
REGULATIONS ADDRESSING THE CLEARING OF SUCH
PROPERTIES FOR DEVELOPMENT, SETTING FOUR MONTHS AS
THE EFFECTIVE PERIOD OF THE MORATORIUM, AND
DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
WHEREAS, ECDC 18.45.040.Q defines "tree" as "any living woody plant characterized
by one main stem or trunk and many branches and having a caliper of six inches or greater, or a
multi -stemmed trunk system with a definitely formed crown;" and
WHEREAS, ECDC 18.45.040.A defines "caliper" as "the diameter of any tree trunk as
measured at a height of four feet above the ground on the upslope side of the tree;" and
WHEREAS, the city's tree regulations are in the process of being updated; and
WHEREAS, there is concern that the existing tree regulations do not adequately protect
existing trees that are not in critical areas from being cleared during subdivision development;
and
WHEREAS, Section 36.70A.390 of the Revised Code of Washington authorizes the City
Council to adopt an immediate moratorium for a period of up to six months without holding a
public hearing on the proposal provided that a public hearing is held within at least sixty days of
its adoption; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to impose a four -month moratorium on the
acceptance of any subdivision application for any property that contains more than eight trees per
10,000 square feet of lot area; NOW, THEREFORE,
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Purpose. The purpose of this moratorium is to allow the City adequate
time to complete review of and adopt updated tree regulations and to preserve existing
significant trees during that review period. The City's goal is to ultimately draft and adopt tree
regulations that better protect existing significant trees from being cleared by subdivision
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development. For the purposes of this ordinance, the phrase "significant tree" shall be defined as
"any living woody plant characterized by one main stem or trunk and many branches and having
a caliper of eight inches or greater, or a multi -stemmed trunk system with a definitely formed
crown."
Section 2. Moratorium Imposed. The City Council hereby imposes a four -month
moratorium on the acceptance of any subdivision application for any property that contains eight
or more significant trees per 10,000 square feet of lot area, PROVIDED THAT trees that are
either dead or determined by a certified arborist to be hazardous shall not be included in the
significant tree count. More precisely, the applicability of the moratorium to a particular property
shall be determined through the following formula where x must be greater than or equal to
.0008 for the moratorium to apply:
x=
Number of significant trees on parent parcel
Parcel size in square feet
For example, an 18,000 square foot lot with fourteen significant trees on it would not be subject
to the moratorium because X would equal .00077, which is less than .0008. In contrast, an
18,000 square foot lot with fifteen significant trees on it would be subject to the moratorium
because X would equal .00083, which is greater than .0008.
Section 3. Duration of Moratorium. The moratorium imposed by this Ordinance
shall commence on the date of the adoption of this Ordinance. As long as the City holds a public
hearing on the moratorium and adopts findings and conclusions in support of the moratorium (as
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contemplated by Section 4 herein), the moratorium shall not terminate until four (4) months after
the date of adoption, unless it is repealed sooner. The Council shall make the decision to
terminate the moratorium by ordinance, and termination shall not otherwise be presumed to have
occurred.
Section 4. Public Hearing on Moratorium. Pursuant to RCW 36.70A.390 and RCW
35A.63.220, the City Council shall hold a public hearing on a moratorium within sixty (60) days
of its adoption. In this case, the hearing shall be held on December 1, 2020 unless the City
Council, by subsequently adopted resolution, provides for a different hearing date. No later than
the next regular Council meeting immediately following the hearing, the City Council shall adopt
findings of fact on the subject of this moratorium and either justify its continued imposition or
cancel the moratorium.
Section 5. Severability. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance
should be held to be unconstitutional or unlawful by a court of competent jurisdiction, such
invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of any other
section, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance.
Section 6. Declaration of Emergency. The City Council hereby declares that an
emergency exists necessitating that this Ordinance take effect immediately upon passage by a
majority vote plus one of the whole membership of the Council, and that the same is not subject
to a referendum (RCW 35A.12.130). Without an immediate moratorium on the City's
acceptance of subdivision applications, such applications could become vested, leading to the
possible removal of existing trees. Therefore, the moratorium must be imposed as an emergency
measure to protect the public health, safety and welfare, and to prevent the submission of
applications to the City in an attempt to vest rights for an indefinite period of time. This
Ordinance does not affect any existing vested rights.
Section 7. Publication. This Ordinance shall be published by an approved summary
consisting of the title.
Section 8. Effective Date, This Ordinance shall take effect and be in full force and
effect immediately upon passage, as set forth herein, as long as it is approved by a majority plus
one of the entire membership of the Council, as required by RCW 35A.12.130. If it is only
approved by a majority of the Council, it will take effect five days after passage and publication.
APPROVED:
M OR MIKE NELSON
ATTEST/AUTHENTICATED:
LER SCOTTP SEY
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY:
BY
JEFF TARADA
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: November 2, 2020
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: November 2, 2020
PUBLISHED: November 5, 2020
EFFECTIVE DATE: November 10, 2020
ORDINANCE NO. 4200
M
SUMMARY OF ORDINANCE NO. 4200
of the City of Edmonds, Washington
On the 2nd day of November, 2020, the City Council of the City of Edmonds, passed Ordinance
No. 4200. A summary of the content of said ordinance, consisting of the title, provides as follows:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS,
WASHINGTON, ESTABLISHING AN IMMEDIATE
EMERGENCY MORATORIUM ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF
ANY SUBDIVISION APPLICATION FOR ANY PROPERTY
THAT CONTAINS MORE THAN EIGHT SIGNIFICANT TREES
PER 10,000 SQUARE FEET OF LOT AREA TO BE IN EFFECT
UNTIL THE CITY OF EDMONDS ADOPTS UPDATED TREE
REGULATIONS ADDRESSING THE CLEARING OF SUCH
PROPERTIES FOR DEVELOPMENT, SETTING FOUR
MONTHS AS THE EFFECTIVE PERIOD OF THE
MORATORIUM, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
The full text of this Ordinance will be mailed upon request.
DATED this 2nd day of November, 2020.
Y CLERK, SCO - ASSEY
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