Activists Outraged at Proposal for Cutting Old Trees - Seattle, WA

Activists Outraged at Proposal for Cutting Old Trees | Slog | The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper:
Some Seattle residents say that a proposal (.pdf) from the city’s Department of Planning and Development to update tree protection codes on private property would only strip large, rare trees off whatever protection they currently have.

But DPD contends that the current rules are no longer working. The department is acting on a 2009 council resolution which asked them to craft new guidelines and incentives that would curb tree removal and retain more trees on private and public properties. DPD spokesperson Bryan Stevens says that the new regulations primarily seek to improve the city's canopy coverage under Seattle’s Urban Forest Management Plan. 'We don't think our proposal will lead to more people cutting down their trees,' Stevens says.