Tree Removal Permit in Bellevue, WA
Permit Summary
Do You Need a Tree Removal Permit?
Exemptions
A tree smaller than the significant-tree threshold is ordinarily outside the standalone significant/landmark tree-removal trigger, but removal can still require approval in critical areas, shoreline conservation areas, protected easements, on public property, under prior approval conditions, or as part of a larger clearing/development proposal. Routine landscape maintenance and permitted limited pruning are not automatically tree-removal permits. The residential annual tree-removal allowance concerns replacement planting, not an exemption from obtaining a permit. Trees wholly in public right-of-way use a separate transportation/right-of-way approval path rather than the private-property clearing-and-grading permit.
Protected Trees & Removal Eligibility
Protected Tree Rules
Bellevue regulates significant and landmark trees, trees retained or planted under previous approvals, and trees in critical areas, shoreline vegetation conservation areas, native growth protection areas and retained vegetation areas. Trees required to be retained or planted must ordinarily remain; removal is limited by applicable land-use and critical-area rules. Removing more than 25% of the live crown of certain legally preserved significant or landmark trees within three years also triggers clearing-and-grading review and special justification.
When Removal Is Allowed
For nondevelopment private-property removals, the City reviews significant and landmark tree removal through the applicable clearing-and-grading permit, with site-specific replacement and preservation requirements. Hazardous trees may be eligible for removal based on documented professional assessment. A significant or landmark tree wholly or partly on a property line is subject to extra hazardous-tree and joint-owner consent conditions under the City's tree code. Trees already subject to a preservation condition, or located in critical areas and shoreline areas, face separate restrictions. Approval is not automatic merely because the property owner wishes to remove a tree.
Replacement Requirements
Replacement Rules
For nondevelopment tree removal under BCC 23.76.060, residential sites have limited removal allowances during a continuous 12-month period without replanting, provided sufficient trees remain. The City's published table lists: up to 10,000 sq ft, one landmark or two significant trees, with more than two significant/landmark trees remaining; 10,001–20,000 sq ft, one landmark or three significant, with more than three remaining; 20,001–40,000 sq ft, one landmark or four significant, with more than four remaining; 40,001 sq ft or more, one landmark or four significant, with more than eight remaining. When replacement applies, the City's code lists one new tree for each significant tree, or three new trees (alternatively two approved large conifers) for each landmark tree. Replacement deciduous trees must be single-stem and at least 2-inch caliper; conifers must be single-stem and at least 6 feet tall. Hazardous trees generally are not subject to this replacement rule, except other applicable landscaping or protected-area obligations. Development proposals use tree-density credits and site-specific mitigation, potentially including an approved fee in lieu. Ordinance 6934, effective August 29, 2026, amends BCC 23.76.060(G); confirm the operative amendment for any application because the online codification has not yet incorporated it.
Arborist & Professional Requirements
Professional Requirements
For hazard-tree removal, Bellevue requires a qualified tree professional's supporting assessment, tree hazard declaration, and basic tree-risk assessment. LUC 20.20.900 defines a hazardous tree using a written opinion from a qualified tree professional who also holds ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ), documenting high-to-extreme risk that cannot be reasonably mitigated. Bellevue lists ISA-certified arborists, ISA municipal specialists, ISA board-certified master arborists, ASCA registered consulting arborists and SAF certified foresters as qualifying professional credentials. A licensed contractor, with valid Washington State contractor registration details supplied before issuance, must remove landmark trees. Qualified professionals also prepare tree-protection plans for applicable development activity.
Public Notice Requirements
Notice Rules
The City does not specify a general neighbor-notice requirement on its standalone GT Tree Removal Only permit page. When tree removal is part of a separately noticed land-use, critical-areas or SEPA proposal, published or mailed public notice, a comment period and applicable appeal procedures may be required under that broader review. Notice depends on the review pathway; no universal GT notice lead time is published on the permit page.
Emergency Tree Removal
For an urgent hazard, Bellevue advises contacting Land Use when possible and documenting the condition with photographs. If removal must precede approval, the owner must apply afterward and provide evidence supporting the hazard; the City may require replacement or impose penalties if the hazard cannot be verified. In critical areas or buffers, Bellevue's official guidance specifically allows qualifying imminent-hazard tree removal before the clearing-and-grading permit when the owner makes a reasonable effort to notify the City before or on the removal day and files for the permit within 14 days; mitigation/restoration may still be required. This is not a general permit exemption for every unsafe-looking tree.
Development & Special Areas
Development-Related Rules
Tree removal associated with subdivisions, short plats, planned unit developments, site improvements, certain lot-coverage or impervious-area changes, construction and other qualifying development is reviewed under LUC 20.20.900 and the associated building, clearing-and-grading or land-use permit, rather than automatically through standalone GT. The applicable development rules require minimum tree-density credits using retained trees and/or replacement planting; tree inventories and qualified-professional tree protection plans are typically part of construction documents. Different districts and development types have different standards, with special exceptions and separately regulated areas. Bellevue's 2026 Ordinance 6932 amended LUC 20.20.900 and related environmental standards, so use effective amendments where the code is pending codification.
Special Zone Rules
A standalone GT permit cannot be used for trees in public right-of-way, critical areas or buffers/setbacks, or Native Growth Protection Area/Retained Vegetation Area easements or tracts. Critical-area and buffer removals generally require a Clearing and Grading in Critical Areas (GJ) permit, sometimes with Critical Areas Land Use review, restoration or SEPA review. Shoreline vegetation conservation areas (including the 50-foot shoreline area identified on Bellevue's tree-removal page) are governed by the Shoreline Overlay District. Public/street trees require Transportation Right-of-Way approval and may not be cut or topped by private parties without authorization. Bridle Trails is subject to the citywide rules for significant and landmark trees. District-specific landscaping and development provisions can apply in Downtown, East Main and other specially regulated areas.
What You Need Before Applying
Requirements
Determine whether the tree is significant, landmark, hazardous, subject to a prior retention or planting condition, in a protected area, or within public right-of-way. Obtain the appropriate Bellevue approval before removal unless a specific emergency procedure applies. For standalone qualifying single-family work, apply for Clearing and Grading > Single Family Residential > Landmark or Significant Tree Removal Only > Tree Removal. Comply with approved tree-retention/replanting plans, arrange the required preconstruction inspection and final inspection, and use a licensed contractor to remove a landmark tree.
Required Documents
For the GT Tree Removal Only path, submit Site Plan B identifying the number and location of significant and landmark trees proposed for removal; when replacement is required, show replanting locations, species and planting sizes. Hazard-tree applications require a qualified tree professional's arborist report, tree hazard declaration and basic tree-risk assessment. Supply the contractor's valid Washington registration details for removal of landmark trees. More complex projects may require tree inventories/protection plans, landscape plans, surveys, critical-area reports, erosion-control documents, or other supporting plans.