An emergency ordinance passed unanimously by the Sammamish City Council will immediately require developers to conform to new regulations for tree retention, at least for the time being.

The ordinance passed to the approval of much of the 75-strong crowd who attended a special meeting of the council Tuesday, Oct. 14 at Sammamish City Hall.

Under the previous ordinance, any development plat with three lots or more must retain at least 25 percent of significant trees during and after construction. Under the new temporary ordinance, that total rises to 35 percent. Developers also can no longer use trees located in protected environmentally sensitive areas on the development property towards that total. Plats of fewer than three lots also must now conform to the 25 percent retention standard.

As an emergency ordinance, the new regulations went in to effect immediately. However, the new ordinance is only effective until December, when the Planning Commission is expected to recommend permanent changes to the tree retention policy.

Many residents turned out to voice their support for the measure.

“We looked all over for what will be our last home … the trees, the environment, the people, my family thought we found where to hang our hat,” resident Louis Ting said. “A week before we closed, all the trees were gone … If this is the culture of Sammamish, we may have made a poor choice to come here.”

Resident Jan Byrd hailed the decision, voicing her support before the council vote.

“Given all of the development going on, it certainly is an emergency,” Byrd said. “This is the right thing to do, and will preserve what we value in Sammamish, which are the trees.”

Not every resident was supportive of the change.

“We should no longer expect to see old barns and cheap farms on our main streets,” resident Donna Collingham said. “Sammamish is zoned urban, and it should be developed urban.”

Other residents, such as Jason Decker, were wary that the council was moving too quickly.

“I understand that there is a lot of pressure … my advice is to slow down and get this right, and to not give a knee-jerk reaction,” Decker told the council.

The ordinance also drew concern from construction groups and associations working in Sammamish. Addressing the council, David Hoffman of the Master Builders Association warned that the ordinance would have “serious unintended consequences,” and that it equated to changing the rules of the game mid-stream, which risked scaring off developers from working in Sammamish.

By passing the ordinance, the council is required to hold a public hearing on tree retention within the next 60 days. The council’s next scheduled meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, at Sammamish City Hall.