8j. Resolution
SEA Land Stewardship Plan and Tree Replacement Standards
Item Number: Meeting Date: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 8j_reso April 16, 2024 PORT OF SEATTLE RESOLUTION NO. 3821 A RESOLUTION of the Port of Seattle Commission adopting SEA Tree Replacement Standards for Airport Activities Area and SEA Land Stewardship Plan for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. WHEREAS, the Port of Seattle is a special purpose government with a mission to promote economic opportunities and quality of life in the region by advancing trade, travel, commerce and job creation in an equitable, accountable and environmentally responsible manner; and WHEREAS, the Port operates essential transportation infrastructure at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), to ensure the efficient movement of people and goods in the region, and must utilize land for development and operations; and WHEREAS, the Port is committed to responsible management of its natural resources because trees, forests, and other habitat are incredibly important to the environment and provide tremendous benefits to our neighboring communities and the public; and WHEREAS, the Port continues to ensure that all its operations and development activities are in compliance with city, state, and federal development standards; and WHEREAS, the Port continually strives to go beyond the minimum regulatory requirements to address environmental justice, improve environmental health, increase climate resilience, and improve habitat for fish and wildlife; and WHEREAS, the Port Commission, through Resolution No. 3741, adopted the Interlocal Agreement with the City of SeaTac defining the “Airport Activity Area” inside which Port capital development activities are subject to compliance with the Airport Building Department development standards; and WHEREAS, Burien, Des Moines, and SeaTac municipal code all include tree replacement standards for development, while no tree replacement standards are currently in effect for the Airport Activity Area; and Resolution No. 3821, SEA Land Stewardship Plan Page 1 of 7 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 WHEREAS, the Port Commission, through Order No. 2023-10, adopted Environmental Land Stewardship Principles and Strategies to guide development of Port environmental land stewardship efforts around trees, forest, and other habitat to further improve the livability, accessibility, and environmental health of the region; and WHEREAS, the Environmental Land Stewardship Principles recommend a holistic ecological approach, ensuring development and other land use projects replace the ecological function and community benefits of any cleared trees; and WHEREAS, the SEA Tree Replacement Standards for Airport Activity Area and SEA Land Stewardship Plan emphasize healthy and self-sustaining forests in harmony with the Commission values recommended in the Environmental Land Stewardship Principles; and WHEREAS, the Land Stewardship Plan is a living, operational document used as a framework to steward trees, forests, and other habitats that will be updated administratively on a periodic basis to reflect new and changing conditions. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Port of Seattle Commission as follows: SECTION 1. Port of Seattle Commission adopts the Tree Replacement Standards policy directive, attached as Exhibit A to this resolution in alignment with the Commission Order No. 2023-10: Port-wide Environmental Land Stewardship Principles and Strategies. SECTION 2. Port of Seattle Commission adopts the SEA Land Stewardship Plan, attached as Exhibit B to this resolution, in alignment with the Commission Order No. 2023-10: Port-wide Environmental Land Stewardship Principles and Strategies. The Plan will be updated administratively, as needed. ADOPTED by the Port of Seattle Commission at a duly noticed public meeting thereof, held this 16 day of April, 2024, and duly authenticated in open session by the signatures of the commissioners voting in favor thereof and the seal of the commission. Port of Seattle Commission Resolution No. 3821, SEA Land Stewardship Plan Page 2 of 7 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 EXHIBIT A to Resolution 3821 SEA Tree Replacement Standards For Airport Activity Area SECTION 1. Purpose. Port-owned properties are subject to tree replacement standards established by the local jurisdictions in which the properties are located. Certain Port-owned properties within the SEA airport boundary, the “Airport Activity Area” as defined in the 2018 Port-SeaTac Interlocal Agreement, attachment to Resolution 3741, are not subject to City of SeaTac tree replacement standards. The purpose of this policy directive is to offer tree replacement standards for the “Airport Activity Area”, that may be impacted by Port operational and development purposes, consistent with the Port-wide Environmental Land Stewardship Principles. Tree replacement standards include components for retention of existing trees on the development site and replacing trees permitted to be cleared. The retention requirement recognizes the intensive industrial and commercial land use that typifies Port development. The replacement standard relies on a holistic ecological approach that gives credit for planting trees and for taking actions to improve forest health at off-site locations, including protecting the life of existing high-value trees and restoring areas infested with invasive plants to native vegetation. This approach is consistent with the Environmental Land Stewardship Principles, which recommends using holistic ecological methods and practices, as well as the SEA Land Stewardship Plan (Exhibit B), which includes site resource documentation that informs project planning and design, including tree replacement. SECTION 2. Definitions When used in this policy directive, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given below unless the context in which they are included clearly indicates otherwise: A. Adjacent location. Port-owned property contiguous to and easily and directly accessible from the development footprint. B. Airport Activity Area (AAA). The area defined in the 2018 Port-SeaTac Interlocal Agreement, attachment to Resolution No. 3741, as being within Airport Building Department jurisdiction and subject to the tree replacement standards herein. C. Forest. An area with predominant tree canopy cover. Resolution 3821, SEA Land Stewardship Plan Page 3 of 7 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 D. Forest cover. The proportion of tree canopy in a given area. Includes trees in forested areas and tree groves as well as individual trees. E. High-value tree. A tree providing significant ecological function due to size, maturity, species, or location in a tree grove. In general, trees greater than 30 inches diameter at breast height (30 inches DBH) are considered high-value due to their size. All regulated native conifers occurring within a tree grove that contains at least three trees greater than 30” DBH are considered to be high-value trees. F. Invasive species. Non-native plant species that aggressively colonize areas, threating native plants and habitat as well as infrastructure. Invasive species cause environmental and economic harm. Invasive species prioritized for management are listed on King County’s Noxious Weeds List. G. Off-site location. Distant from and not directly associated with a proposed development footprint. H. On-site location. Within the development footprint, which includes the building and supporting infrastructure (e.g., parking areas, landscaping; exterior fencing and lighting). I. Portwide Environmental Land Stewardship Principles. Refers to Order 2023-10, approved by the Commission on July 11, 2023. J. Regulated Tree. A tree that is subject to replacement according to the development standards herein. K. Tree. A woody perennial plant with a single stem growing to more than 30 feet at maturity and bearing lateral branches beginning some distance above the ground. L. Tree Grove. A group of trees that grow close together, generally without many bushes or other plants underneath, and anchored by at least three high-value trees. SECTION 3. Scope and Applicability. These standards pertains to the “Airport Activity Area”, as defined in the 2018 Port-SeaTac Interlocal Agreement, attachment to Resolution No. 3741. SECTION 4. Responsibilities. The Port’s Executive Director, or a delegate, shall ensure the Tree Replacement Standards Policy Directive is implemented and adequately funded, and that the Policy Directive is integrated into capital project plans and key operational decisions in the Airport Activity Area, as defined in the 2018 Port-SeaTac Interlocal Agreement, attachment to Resolution 3741. The Executive Director shall also ensure that outcomes associated with the application of the Tree Replacement Standard Policy Directive are transparently documented and publicly exhibited so Resolution 3821, SEA Land Stewardship Plan Page 4 of 7 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 that the Port of Seattle Commission can review, in public, how projects are meeting its Tree Replacement Standards. The Executive Director shall also ensure that the program evaluation meets the purpose and timeliness identified in Section 6 of this policy. SECTION 5. Policy. A. Tree Replacement Standards. (1) Regulated Tree. A regulated tree must be replaced according to the standards herein. Regulated trees meet one of the following criteria: a. equal to or greater than six inches diameter at breast height (6” DBH); or b. any tree planted by design as part of landscaping for existing development. (2) Tree Retention. The intensive industrial/commercial land use supporting airport operations provides limited opportunity for retaining existing trees on development sites. Therefore, projects with clearing impacts will not be subject to a minimum retention requirement but shall retain existing trees to the extent practicable. (3) Tree Replacement. If a Regulated Tree is to be cleared: a. It must be replaced at a 4:1 ratio. b. Replacement uses a “stewardship credit” approach for which a replacement credit can be generated the following ways: i. ii. 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 iii. Tree Planting. Plant one tree in an on-site or off-site location, or Invasive removal. Remove 200 square feet of invasive vegetation from an off-site location and replanting the area with native understory vegetation, or Tree Protection. Protect the life of one tree using one of the following means: a. Retain one regulated tree within the development footprint through project design and construction methods, or b. Protect the life of one high-value tree in an off-site location from invasive threats (e.g., removing English ivy from the tree trunk and vicinity). Resolution 3821, SEA Land Stewardship Plan Page 5 of 7 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 B. The tree replacement standards shall be supplemented by specific design criteria, to be applied as part of capital project planning and design. The criteria ensure that tree replacement concepts and designs are consistent with Environmental Land Stewardship Principles, operational requirements, and equity policy. (1) Tree replacement requirements are to be evaluated using site inventories for the development site and potential adjacent and off-site planting areas. Site inventories are required to be completed as part of the project planning and design. (2) Stewardship credits generated by tree planting shall account for greater than 50% of the replacement requirement. (3) Tree replacement shall be prioritized and maximized first on-site, then adjacent to the development footprint before utilizing off-site locations. (4) For tree replacement that occurs on-site or at adjacent locations, projects shall consider the potential for employee access to tree replacement areas to improve project equity and employee wellness benefits. (5) Designed tree replacement shall be consistent with rules for safe aviation, including the Wildlife Hazard Management Plan; Flight Corridor Safety Program vegetation height limits and regulatory requirements; and all applicable environmental laws and regulations. SECTION 6. Program Evaluation. The Executive Director, or a delegate, shall monitor and evaluate progress towards achieving the policy directive. This monitoring and evaluation shall include but not be limited to the following: A. Documentation. In alignment with the Airport Building Department permitting, capital projects are required to inventory and documents all trees in the development footprint and trees that are planned for clearing. Projects that clear trees must create a tree replacement plan documenting how trees will be replaced and complete an accounting worksheet demonstrating tree replacement requirements are achieved. A comprehensive database will be developed and maintained documenting the location and extent of all tree clearing impacts and replacement actions (tree planting, tree protection, invasive restoration). B. Reporting. Documented tree replacement pursuant to the SEA Tree Replacement Policy Directive will be reported annually in the Environment and Sustainability Center of Expertise’s Key Performance Indicators. Staff will present a summary of Key Resolution 3821, SEA Land Stewardship Plan Page 6 of 7 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 Performance Indicators annually to the Sustainability, Environment, and Climate Committee. C. When substantive administrative updates to the SEA Land Stewardship Plan are made, Commissioners will be notified through the Sustainability, Environment, and Climate Committee. Resolution 3821, SEA Land Stewardship Plan Page 7 of 7
Limitations of Translatable Documents
PDF files are created with text and images are placed at an exact position on a page of a fixed size.
Web pages are fluid in nature, and the exact positioning of PDF text creates presentation problems.
PDFs that are full page graphics, or scanned pages are generally unable to be made accessible, In these cases, viewing whatever plain text could be extracted is the only alternative.