Medina tree permits: what to check before removal

Use the city's tree page first

Medina identifies limited activities that may be allowed without a permit, including routine pruning, certain small trees outside critical areas and buffers, limited pruning to the property line, and listed invasive species. Exceptions still apply.

Read Medina's current tree permit guidance and follow its link to the Tree Management Code before starting work.

Six inches can be enough

The city's permit instructions require a tree activity permit when a property is under development; when a private-property tree is at least six inches DBH and is on Medina's significant-species list; when a right-of-way tree at least six inches DBH is removed; when substantial right-of-way pruning is proposed; or when a tree within 200 feet of the Lake Washington shoreline is removed.

• Right-of-way pruning is screened when limbs larger than three inches are removed, more than 25 percent of the natural canopy is removed, or the work endangers the tree.
• A dead or advanced-decline exemption depends on the city determining that the condition resulted from naturally occurring causes.
• Critical-area and shoreline rules can add requirements beyond the tree chapter.

Development uses a tree-unit test

A site designated as under development must inventory significant trees and show whether retained tree units meet the code's required density. Medina's published performance worksheet applies a residential tree-density ratio of 0.40 per 1,000 square feet, then calculates supplemental planting when retained units fall short.

• The worksheet gives different unit values by tree size and for conifers at least 36 inches DBH.
• Replacement of a removed tree at least 24 inches DBH calls for two supplemental trees in the performance calculation.
• Legacy or landmark trees use a separate mitigation path; confirm the classification and calculation with the city tree consultant.

A simple removal still carries replacement duties

For a significant tree on private property that is not under development, Medina's restoration table calls for one replacement for a 6-to-10-inch tree, two for a tree over 10 and under 24 inches, and three for a tree 24 inches or larger. A hazard-tree removal calls for one replacement.

• Use a species eligible for restoration credit and obtain the city's final planting inspection.
• The property owner must keep restoration trees healthy and replace failures during the next five years.
• The restoration permit expires after 18 months from the later of the decision or final appeal date.

Some applications require notice or a hearing

Routine private-property applications may be administrative, but right-of-way work can require public notice. The city's instructions route removal of a significant tree with a DBH of 50 inches or greater, and certain non-administrative right-of-way activity, to the Hearing Examiner after notice and a public hearing. Large, legacy, landmark, and right-of-way trees should be classified with the city before filing.

Emergency does not mean undocumented

The city instructions exempt a qualifying emergency removal from advance permitting but require the city to be notified within seven days. Photograph the failure condition, protect evidence, and keep the arborist or other qualified assessment that explains the immediate danger.

Use Medina's Administrative Tree Activity Permit and instructions to match the work to the current application category and submittal materials.

Our take

Measure DBH, identify the species, and map the tree relative to the shoreline, critical areas, property lines, and right-of-way before asking whether removal is allowed. In Medina, one missing fact can send the application down a different review and mitigation path.