A. “Commercial agriculture” means those activities conducted on lands defined in RCW 84.34.020(2), and activities involved in the production of crops or livestock for wholesale trade. An activity ceases to be considered commercial agriculture when the area on which it is conducted is proposed for conversion to a nonagricultural use or has lain idle for more than five years, unless the idle land is registered in a federal or state soils conservation program, or unless the activity is maintenance of irrigation ditches, laterals, canals, or drainage ditches related to an existing and ongoing agricultural activity.

B. “Conversion” means a forest practice involving the removal of trees to convert forestland to permanent nonforestry urban uses that results in residential, commercial, or industrial activities.

C. “Development moratorium” means the denial by the city of Monroe of all applications for permits or approvals for a period of six years as established in Chapter 76.09 RCW, including but not limited to building permits, right-of-way permits, subdivisions, rezones, and variances on the subject property.

D. “Forest practices” means activities conducted on or directly pertaining to forestlands, regulated in Chapter 222-16 WAC or Chapter 76.09 RCW, relating to growing, harvesting, or processing timber. This includes but is not limited to: road and trail construction; harvesting, final and intermediate; precommercial thinning; reforestation; fertilization; prevention and suppression of diseases and insects; salvage of trees; and brush control.

E. “Ground cover” means small plants such as salal, ivy, ferns, mosses, grasses, or other types of vegetation which normally cover the ground and includes trees and shrubs less than six inches in diameter.

F. “Ground cover management” means the mowing or cutting of ground cover when such activities do not disturb the root structures of plants.

G. “Land clearing” means the act of removing or destroying trees, ground cover, and other vegetation by manual, mechanical, or chemical methods.

H. “Land development permit” means any land use or environmental permit or license including but not limited to preliminary or final plat for a single-family residential project, a building permit, or preliminary or final planned residential development plan.

I. “Person” means any person, individual, public or private corporation, firm, association, joint venture, partnership, owner, lessee, tenant, or any other entity whatsoever or any combination of such, jointly or severally.

J. “Qualified professional forester” means an individual with academic and field experience in forestry or urban forestry, with a minimum of two years’ experience in tree evaluation. This may include Society of American Foresters (SAF) Certified Forester, Registered American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA) Consulting Arborist, Washington State Licensed Landscape Architect, or an International Society of Arborists (ISA) Certified Arborist.

K. “Removal” means the actual removal or causing the effective removal through damaging, poisoning, root destruction or other direct or indirect actions resulting in the death of vegetation.

L. “Routine vegetation management” means tree trimming or pruning and ground cover management undertaken by a person in connection with the normal maintenance and repair of property.

M. “Tree” means any perennial woody plant with one main stem or multiple stems that supports secondary branches, that has a distinct and elevated crown, that will commonly reach a height of fifteen feet or greater, and where the main stem or one stem of a multi-stemmed tree has a DBH (diameter at breast height) measurement of six inches or greater four and one-half feet above the ground.

N. “Tree cutting” means the actual removal of the above-ground plant material of a tree through manual or mechanical methods.

O. “Tree topping” means the severing of the main stem of the tree in order to reduce the overall height of the tree; provided, that no more than forty percent of the live crown is removed during any topping. If more than forty percent of the top is removed, it is considered removal.

P. “Tree trimming” means the pruning or removal of limbs; provided, that the main stem is not severed and no more than forty percent of the live crown is removed. If more than forty percent of the limbs or crown is removed, it is considered removal. (Ord. 005/2019 § 10 (Exh. B))