Noll Road Association

I) Tree Preservation during site design and development.

Whereas rapid growth, the spread of development, and increasing demands upon natural resources have the effect of encroaching upon, despoiling or eliminating many of the trees and other forms of vegetation and natural resources and processes associated therewith which, if preserved and maintained in an undisturbed and natural condition, constitute important physical, aesthetic, recreation and economic assets to existing and future residents of the city; and whereas the City Council finds (1) that trees and woodland growth protect public health through the absorption of air pollutants and contamination, through the reduction of excessive noise and mental and physical damage related to noise pollution, through their cooling effect in the summer months and insulating effects in winter;

 (2) That trees and woodlands provide for public safety through the prevention of soil erosion, siltration and flooding;

 (3) That trees and woodlands are essential to the general welfare of the city by maintaining the natural beauty and the irreplaceable heritage for existing and future city residents; and

(4) That the City of Poulsbo can promote urban forestry practices which will preserve or enhance trees on public and private lands as they transition from natural areas into an urban environment. Therefore, the purposes of this ordinance are:

(A) To provide for the protection and preservation of trees and woodlands within the City in order to preserve and enhance the city's physical and aesthetic character by preventing untimely and indiscriminate removal or destruction of trees;

(B) To protect trees and woodlands of this city for their economic support of local property values and to preserve and enhance the Pacific Northwest's natural beauty;

(C) To minimize the adverse impacts of land disturbing activities on surface drainage, soil erosion, air quality, sedimentation and pollution of natural waterways, in order to minimize the public and private costs for storm water control and treatment, utility maintenance and removal of pollution from our natural waterways;

(D) To promote site planning and construction practices that are consistent with the reasonable use of property;

(E) To implement the goals and objectives of the Washington State Environmental Policy Act; and

(F) To implement the goals and objectives of the city's comprehensive plan.

II) Pre-application conference.

Prior to application for land use permits and actions such as a land division, commercial site plan review, or a conditional use permit, a pre-application conference shall be required consistent with the requirements of chapter 19.01.010 Pre-application review in the Poulsbo Municipal Code. The pre-application review is designed to review the proposed action and identify permit requirements and issues an applicant may incur if the project is implemented. As part of this review it should be made clear that the city of Poulsbo has tree protection regulations that require early consideration of tree protection options, and that urban forest concepts and strategies shall be part of the early design considerations for new projects. Location and design of major infrastructure, buildings, and planned uses must consider tree protection opportunities. The City Arborist shall be consulted during the pre-application process. Aerial photography should be presented to help guide the applicant, arborist and planning staff through the pre-application conference.

III)  Site Design Guidelines for Tree Protection

Site improvements shall be designed and constructed to meet the following guidelines:

(1) The site design incorporates existing trees as a site amenity, and reflects a strong emphasis on tree protection.

(2) To the extent possible, forested sites that are selected to be retained keep some of their forested look, value, and function after development while working within housing density standards.  Trees should be protected within vegetated islands and stands. rather than as individual, isolated trees scattered throughout the site. Individual specimen trees can be retained at the advice of the arborist.

(3) Site improvements should be designed to give priority to protection of trees with the following characteristics, functions, or location:

(A) Existing stands of healthy trees especially edge trees that are not as prone to wind damage;

(B) Healthy trees that have a reasonable chance of survival once the site is developed or will not pose a threat to life or property, especially smaller to mid size (10” DBH) trees that are more likely to withstand development pressures;

(C) Trees that have a screening function or provide relief from glare, blight, commercial or industrial harshness;

(D) Trees providing critical habitat value, such as riparian habitat;

(E) Trees within the required critical area setbacks or around the site perimeter;

(F) Trees having significant land stability function;

(G) Trees adjacent to public parks and open space.

(4) Building footprints, parking areas, roadways, utility corridors and other structures are designed and located with a consideration of tree protection opportunities.

(5) Required open space and recreational space is designed and located to protect existing stands of trees.

(6) The site design and landscape plans shall provide suitable locations and adequate area for replacement trees.

(7) In considering trees for protection, avoid selecting trees that may become hazardous because of wind gusts, including trees adjacent to utility corridors where falling trees may cause power outages or other damage. Remaining trees may be susceptible to blow downs because of loss of a buffer from other trees, grade changes affecting the tree health and stability and/or the presence of buildings in close proximity.

IV) Tree Site Plan.

Given the above design guidelines, the applicant will develop a tree site plan that will be presented at application submittal for all development of commercial, industrial or residential subdivision (more than 4 units) or multi-family (more than 4 units) in the residential low density zoning area in which existing trees are proposed for removal, could be damaged by construction activities and/or could become hazardous. This site plan can be developed by the applicant in conjunction with advice from a licensed arborist or the city arborist.

1.)   A tree inventory will be produced that documents average trees and basal area per acre, by species and 6” diameter class. Documentation of the non-forested area is also required with a general description to included vegetation present.

2.)   Surveyed locations of perimeters of groves of trees and individual trees to preserve shall be identified.

4.)   A narrative description that will include the ways that grading will be accomplished to protect and preserve the identified trees including a timeline for clearing and grading of the development site.

V) Tree Protection Standards during Site Development:

(1) Placing materials near Trees.

 No person may conduct any activity within the protected area of any tree designated to remain, including, but not limited to, parking equipment, placing solvents, storing building materials and soil deposits, dumping concrete washout and locating burn holes.

(2) Attachments to Trees.

 During construction, no person shall attache any object to any tree designated for protection.

(3) Protective Barrier. Before development, land clearing, filling or any land alteration, the applicant shall

(A) Erect and maintain readily visible protective tree fencing along the outer edge and completely surrounding the protected area of all protected trees. Orange barrier fencing at least 4 feet high will be used Fences shall be constructed of chain link and at least four (4) feet high, unless other type of fencing is authorized by the City Arborist.

(B) May be required to cover with mulch to a depth of at least six (6) inches or with plywood or similar material the areas adjoining the critical root zone of a tree in order to protect roots from damage caused by heavy equipment.

(C)  Shall prohibit excavation or compaction of earth or other potentially damaging activities within the barrier.

(D) Shall maintain the protective barriers in place until the City Arborist authorizes their removal or a final certificate of occupancy is issued which ever is first.

(E) Shall ensure that any landscaping done in the protected zone subsequent to the removal of the barriers shall be accomplished with light machinery or hand labor.

(4)  Grade.

          (A) The grade shall not be elevated or reduced within the critical root zone of the trees to be preserved without the City Arborist authorization. The
City Arborist may allow coverage of up to one half of the area of the tree’s critical root zone with light solids (no clay) to the minimum of depth necessary to carry out grading or landscaping plans, if it will not imperil the revival of the tree. Aeration devices may be required to ensure the tree’s survival.

          (B) If the grade adjacent to a preserved tree is raised such that it could slough or erode into the tree’s critical root zone, it shall be permanently stabilized to prevent suffocation of the roots.

          (C) The applicant shall not install an impervious surface within the critical root zone of any tree to be retained without the authorization of the City Arborist. The City Arborist may require that utilities be tunneled under the roots of trees to be retained if the City Arborist determines that the trenching would significantly reduce the chances of the trees survival.

          (D) Trees and other vegetation to be retained shall be protected from erosion and sedimentation.

(5) Directional felling. Directional felling of trees shall be used to avoid damage to trees designated for retention.

(6) Additional Requirements. The City Arborist may require additional tree protection measures which are consistent with accepted urban forestry practices.

VI) Definitions:

Arial photography; Photographs from the air commonly available on the Kitsap County Parcel Search or Internet sources

Basal area per acre: The cross-sectional area of a tree trunk at a point 4.5 feet from the ground, usually measured in units of square feet per acre.

Canopy area: The area that includes crowns of trees forming the top layer in the woods or forest.

Critical area setbacks: As defined in the Poulsbo Municipal Code section 16.20

Critical habitat: As defined in the Poulsbo Municipal Code section 16.20

Critical root zone: Portion of the root system that is the minimum necessary to maintain vitality or stability of the tree.

DBH: diameter breast height: Measurement of the tree diameter at a standardized height of 4.5 feet above the ground.

Directional felling: Felling trees so that they fall in a predetermined direction which will cause the least damage to the site.

Edge trees: Trees at the peripheral of a forested area that have been subject to wind pressures over time

Housing density standards: As defined in the Poulsbo Municipal Code section 18.??

Impervious surface: Any surface such as roads, sidewalks or parking lots that does not allow water to soak into the ground.

Specimen trees: Trees being older than 25 years, of a very large size for their species and/or being a rare variety or have exceptional aesthetic quality.

Stands: A group of trees which is similar in terms of composition, structure, age, history, and other biological characteristics, and is different than the surrounding forest.

Vegetated islands: Trees grouped together surrounded by non-forested areas.