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Support for Evaluating Seattle’s Green Assets

May 2, 2019

 

PCC signed a letter by Seattle Green Spaces Coalition (SGSC) urging the Seattle City Council to fund an assessment of the city’s green spaces as natural capital.

SGSC is a nonprofit organization that works with communities to transform unused public lands into green spaces to benefit public health and the climate. The goal is to preserve pockets of nature around the greater Seattle area considered “surplus” and prevent them from being acquired by private developers.

In its letter, SGSC encourages the city council to approve funding for an external consultant who would assess the monetary value of natural capital and incorporate it into the city’s asset portfolio. The city’s green assets include a range of property types, including urban forests, parks, wetlands, P-Patches, golf courses and university campuses.

Existing preliminary evaluations estimate Seattle’s green spaces as providing an annual value of $2 to $3 billion. PCC supports protecting Seattle’s green spaces and understands the importance of including this land as an asset in the city’s portfolio.

Read the full SGSC letter here.

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