Beaverton Tree Code Audit

Beaverton, OR | 2022

Trees are important public resources with many benefits to the environment and public health and wellbeing, but managing urban trees is a major challenge for cities. The rules governing urban trees are often a patchwork of complex, inconsistent rules that are difficult to understand, administer, and enforce. This can lead to confusion for residents, business owners, developers, and even City staff. Tree code that is too lenient often fails to preserve and protect existing tree canopy, but tree code that is too strict and not well calibrated to market realities can discourage development and limit housing production.

The City of Beaverton, recognizing that its tree code had many shortcomings, worked with Cascadia Partners to identify innovative approaches and best practices that may offer a new path forward for tree regulations in Beaverton.The Cascadia Partners team performed a comprehensive audit of the City of Beaverton’s tree code, and made recommendations to help tailor the City’s regulations and incentives to balance preservation with other community needs like housing development.

The team produced a Tree Code Audit Report for the City staff diagnosing key issues with the tree code to inform future planning processes and policy discussions around how the City might approach tree regulations. This report will be used by the city to inform future urban forestry policy and tree code updates.