Totem Lake is Kirkland’s busiest urban centre: apartments and condos, medical offices, retail and business parks, wrapped around the Totem Lake wetland and park. Most trees here were planted or kept as part of a development, and that changes the rules.
Required landscaping trees
When a multifamily or commercial project is approved, its landscaping, trees included, becomes a condition of the approval. In Kirkland’s tree code, trees that were retained or planted as required landscaping can’t be removed through the free notification. In practice:
| Situation | Path |
|---|---|
| Healthy required tree, owner wants it gone | Usually not approved; permit only for hazard or nuisance |
| Dead or failing required tree | Permit with arborist documentation; replacement expected |
| Roots lifting parking or walkways | Nuisance-tree case with photos and repair evidence |
| Street (right-of-way) tree | Public Tree Pruning or Removal Permit |
| Storm damage, imminent danger | Remove, report within 7 days |
Totem Lake Park and wetland edges
Properties bordering the lake and its wetland have critical-area buffers. Trees there can’t use the notification, need permission for pruning, and often stay as habitat even when damaged, cut to a safe snag instead of removed.
What property managers usually need
- Annual walk-through of big conifers over parking, entries and play areas
- Clearance pruning over fire lanes, roofs and walkways
- Hazard documentation for the trees that need to go, bundled into one permit
- Replacement planting that meets the site’s landscaping plan
- Storm-night contact for trees across driveways or cars
See HOA and commercial tree care for how a multi-year plan works.
Wind on the edge
New buildings change wind patterns. Trees left at the edge of a cleared site, or newly exposed to a gap between buildings, are the most likely to fail in the first few winters after construction.
Property manager in Totem Lake? Ask for a site walk and a yearly plan.
(425) 000-0000Common questions
Why can't my apartment complex use the free tree removal notification?
Trees retained or planted as required landscaping, typical for multifamily, mixed-use and commercial developments, are excluded from the Tree Removal Notification. Removing them needs a permit, and replacements are normally required.
Who maintains trees along Totem Lake's streets?
Trees in the public right-of-way are city trees: pruning beyond minor work or removal needs a Public Tree Pruning or Removal Permit. Trees inside the property line belong to the owner or association.
Can parking lot trees be removed if their roots damage the pavement?
Possibly, as nuisance trees, if the damage is documented and can't be fixed by reasonable means such as root pruning or pavement repair. Required landscaping trees removed this way usually have to be replaced.