Do you need a permit?
Yes — a permit is required
Bellevue requires a permit to remove a significant or landmark tree, and the bar is low — "significant" starts at just 6 inches diameter. There is a Tree Removal Only permit built for exactly this: taking down trees on a single-family property with no building or grading work involved. Residential owners get an annual allowance that scales with lot size, but you still need the permit even inside that allowance.
Size threshold
Significant tree: "At least six inches in diameter (19 inches in circumference) or greater, measured four feet above the existing grade." Landmark tree: "generally considered at least 24 inches in diameter (75 inches in circumference) or greater, measured four feet above the existing grade" — the code also has a table with lower thresholds for slower-growing native species.
What's protected in Bellevue
- Landmark trees (generally 24 inches diameter or greater; lower thresholds for slower-growing natives)
- Significant trees (6 inches diameter or greater)
- Trees in critical areas, buffers, shoreline areas, setbacks and protected vegetation easements — reviewed separately
- Trees on commercial and multifamily property
How to apply in Bellevue
- 1
Apply online at MyBuildingPermit.com.
- 2
Choose Clearing and Grading as the application type, Single Family Residential as the project type, and Landmark or Significant Tree Removal Only as the activity type.
- 3
Attach a site plan showing the significant and/or landmark trees to be removed.
- 4
Attach an arborist report if claiming the tree is hazardous under the LUC 20.20.900.C.3 criteria.
Fees, penalties, and the ordinance
- Ordinance
- Bellevue Land Use Code — LUC 20.20.900 (trees and vegetation, hazard tree criteria at 20.20.900.C.3), LUC 20.25H (critical areas), LUC 20.25E (shoreline vegetation)
Worth knowing
- Annual removal allowance on residential property outside shoreline, critical areas and buffers scales with lot size — from 1 landmark or 2 significant trees on lots up to 10,000 sq ft, up to 1 landmark or 4 significant trees on lots of 40,001 sq ft or more — and only if trees remain on the property afterwards.
- A permit is still required even inside the annual allowance. What the allowance buys you is exemption from replacement planting.
- Replanting is always required on nonresidential property unless the site still meets its minimum tree density and approved landscaping.
- Annual limits and replanting do not apply to trees a qualified tree professional determines are hazardous.
What we could not confirm
We would rather tell you what we don't know than guess. Call the office below to confirm these before you cut.
- — The permit fee — Bellevue directs applicants to its Permit Fee Estimator rather than publishing a flat number.
- — The species-by-species table of lower landmark thresholds for slower-growing natives.
- — Whether a tree under 6 inches diameter needs any approval at all.
- — Penalties for removing a significant or landmark tree without a permit.