Do I need a permit to take this tree down?
It depends on the city and the lot. Four different rules. John can walk the lot. He cannot skip the paperwork.
Olympia
There is a minimum number of tree units you must maintain on your property. If removing a tree will drop you below the requirement, you must first Apply for a Tree Permit.
If the cut drops you below the tree-unit minimum (30 tree units per acre, or the lot-size chart), apply for a Tree Permit first. Single-family lots not in an HOA may file a Tree Exemption Affidavit plus a tree-unit worksheet to cpdinfo@ci.olympia.wa.us. HOA lots use the HOA rules, not that affidavit. Hazard trees need a TRAQ arborist assessment for the City Urban Forester. Street trees trigger extra ROW / bonding steps.
Olympia Urban Forestry
Tree Permit checklist (PDF)
Lacey
Before removing any trees on residential property within the City of Lacey, property owners must obtain a land clearing permit exemption or a land clearing permit.
You need a land-clearing permit or a permit exemption before you remove any tree on residential property. Exemption is typical for up to three trees in five years if you keep four trees per 5,000 sq ft. Hazard trees: City Arborist must deem them hazardous. Exemption form itself has no fee. Hired contractors need a Lacey endorsement on the state license and a signed Tree Protection acknowledgment.
Lacey tree permit
Lacey knowledge base
Tumwater
The city’s “when do I need a permit?” page lists tree removal and land clearing as permit work. A Letter of Waiver exists for six trees or fewer in three consecutive years. More than six dead, diseased, or hazardous trees uses a Land Clearing Exemption with a Forester’s Report.
Tumwater: when do I need a permit?
Tumwater waiver document
Unincorporated Thurston
County copy names three permit triggers: hazard trees in a designated critical area; cutting to prepare a site for development; cutting trees to sell (DNR).
A permit is not required to remove trees within a tree length of an existing, permanent structure if all trees are outside of critical areas and buffers.
Still check critical areas and site-development rules. Do not treat unincorporated Thurston as a no-permit county.