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In addition to the following definitions, this chapter shall rely upon existing definitions contained within the Washington State Forest Practices Act (RCW 76.09), Rules for the Washington State Forest Practices Act (WAC 222-16), and the city of Anacortes Municipal Code.

“Arborist” means a person who has met the Criteria for Certification from the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) and who maintains his or her accreditation.

“Canopy area” means the area covered by the crown of an individual tree as delineated by the vertical projection of its outermost perimeter; small openings in the crown are included.

“Canopy cover” means the percentage of property area covered by the sum canopy area of the trees to be retained on the site post-development as delineated by the vertical projection of its outermost perimeter of the tree branches; small openings in the canopy are included.

“Co-dominant trees” means trees whose crowns form the general level of the canopy cover and receive full light from above, but limited light from the sides.

“Contiguous” means near, adjacent or touching.

“Crown” means the area of the tree containing leaf or needle-bearing branches.

“Crown thinning” means the selective removal of branches in a tree crown to increase light penetration, reduce weight, and lessen wind resistance.

“Department” means the city of Anacortes department of planning and community development.

“Development” means any alteration, grading, filling, building, earth moving, etc., as is needed to prepare a site for construction, as well as any structure or utility building operations. Preliminary mapping and survey work that is completed using best management practices and results in minimal disturbance of vegetation and soil is not considered to be development activity.

“Diameter at breast height (d.b.h.)” means a tree’s trunk diameter in inches measured four and one-half feet above the ground.

1. On multi-stemmed or trunked trees, where the diameter at four and one-half feet above grade is actually greater than that at a lower point on the tree, d.b.h. shall be measured at the narrowest diameter below four and one-half feet. In such cases, the height of the measurement should be noted.

Illustration #1a Multi-trunked tree

Illustration #1b Multi-trunked tree

2. On sloping ground, diameter shall be measured from the uphill side of the tree.

Illustration #2a Tree on Sloping Ground

3. Leaning trees, diameter shall be measured 4 ¼ feet up the stem in the direction of the lean.

Illustration #3a Leaning tree

4. On multi-trunked trees, where tree splits into several trunks close to ground level, the diameter shall be the diameter equivalent to the sum of each individual trunk measured according to he principals listed above.

Illustration #4a Multi-trunk tree, close to ground

“Director” means the director of the city of Anacortes department of planning and community development or an assigned designee.

“Diseased tree” means a tree, that in the opinion of the city of Anacortes or an expert approved by the city of Anacortes (such as but not limited to an experienced forester, ISA certified arborist, or landscape architect), has a strong likelihood of infecting other vegetation in the area or becoming a hazard as a result of the disease.

“Dominant trees” means trees whose crowns are higher than the general level of the canopy and which receive light from the sides as well as from above.

“Environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs)” also defined as “critical areas” by the Washington State Growth Management Act. These environmentally sensitive areas in city of Anacortes are geologically hazardous areas, frequently flooded areas, wetlands, aquifer recharge areas, and fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas and are regulated by AMC Chapter 19.70.

“Forest land” as defined in the Washington State Forest Practice Act, all land that is capable of supporting a merchantable stand of timber and is not actively used for a use which is incompatible with timber growing.

“Forest practice” means any activity conducted on or directly pertaining to forest lands and relating to the growing, harvesting, or processing of timber, including but not limited to: road and trail construction; harvesting, final and intermediate; site preparation prior to development involving tree removal; precommercial thinning; reforestation; fertilization; prevention and suppression of diseases and insects; salvage of trees; and brush control.

“Hazard tree” means any tree which, in the opinion of the city of Anacortes director or an expert approved by the city of Anacortes (such as, but not limited to, a professional forester, ISA certified arborist, or landscape architect), poses an unreasonable risk of failure and is a distance of 1.2 tree lengths or less from a permanent structure or frequent use outdoor area.

“Intermediate trees” means trees that are generally surrounded by other trees and whose crowns generally receive no sunlight from the sides but do receive some direct sunlight from above through holes in the tree canopy.

“Limbing” means the act of removing unwanted limbs, or branches, from a tree. For example, limbing may be used to remove large branches hanging dangerously over a house without removing the whole tree. Limbing can also create “windows” which can enhance views or mitigate windthrow problems.

“Lot” means a designated parcel, tract or area of land established by plat, subdivision, or as otherwise permitted by law, to be separately owned, used, developed, or built upon.

“Minimum tree conservation ratio” means minimum tree conservation standard ratio applies to a lot of any size. The ratio of one tree unit per one thousand square feet; for example, a ten thousand square feet lot would have a minimum of ten tree units and a seven thousand five hundred square feet lot would have seven and one-half tree units.

“Native trees” means trees that are determined to be indigenous to Fidalgo Island. The city planning department will maintain a list of native trees.

“Nuisance tree” means any tree which, in the opinion of the city of Anacortes planning department or an expert approved by the city of Anacortes (such as, but not limited to a professional forester, ISA certified arborist, or landscape architect), is an invasive variety, or, due to its location, is causing or is likely to cause significant damage to a permanent structure that cannot be mitigated without removal of the tree.

“Priority trees” means existing trees with a diameter of twenty-four inches or greater, or that are at least one hundred years old, or provide significant habitat value regardless of girth or age. These trees are given high priority for retention per this chapter.

“Project permit” or “project permit application” means any land use or environmental permit or license required from the city for a project action, including, but not limited to, subdivisions, planned unit developments, conditional uses, shoreline permits, permits or approvals required by the critical areas ordinance (Chapter 19.70 AMC), site-specific rezones authorized by the city of Anacortes comprehensive plan or a formally adopted subarea plan.

“Significant existing vegetation” means and includes shrubs and deciduous and evergreen trees at least two inches diameter at a point (d.b.h.) four and one-half feet above the ground or greater.

“Street trees” means trees in the planting strip of a street right-of-way between the street pavement and the property line or in the center planting area of a boulevard.

“Suppressed trees” means trees that receive no direct sunlight from the sides or above due to surrounding tree canopy. May receive limited filtered sunlight. Generally weak and slow growing.

“Topping” means a pruning cut to the main stem of a mature tree. Such cuts can result in serious decay and/or forcing out growth of weakly attached upright sprouts below the cut. Topping also results in permanent alteration of tree architecture. For the purposes of this chapter, topping shall be treated the same as tree removal.

“Tree” means any woody plant commonly, but not necessarily, having one main stem or trunk that will reach a minimum height of fifteen feet at maturity.

“Tree commission” means an advisory committee appointed by mayor/council to work on tree preservation issues.

“Tree unit” means a measurement to assign value to the number of trees retained on a site. Table 16.50.120 assigns “tree unit credits” based upon the size of existing or newly planted trees. Utilizing tree units allows larger, older trees to be given more value than younger smaller trees.

“Tree protection area” means a protective zone established around the canopy area of a tree or group of trees to prevent damage or destruction during construction and site development activities.

Weed, Noxious. “Noxious weed” means an invasive plant which takes advantage of disruptions of natural plant communities, especially those created by human activity, harms and/or displaces valued vegetation or is considered excessively noxious because of its poisonous qualities. The city will maintain a list of undesirable invasive or noxious weeds which will include such plants as English Ivy, Giant Hogweed, Scotch Broom and Water Hemlock.

“Windfirm” means a tree that is capable of withstanding average peak local wind speeds and gusts without experiencing major breakage or windthrow.

“Windthrow” means the uprooting or breaking of a tree due to excessive wind. (Ord. 2756 Att. F, 2006)