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Tree service in West Slope, Raleigh West and Denney Whitford

The east side of Beaverton runs from West Slope, on the hill between the Sunset Highway and Canyon Road, south through Raleigh West to Denney Whitford, where Fanno Creek crosses under Highway 217. It is some of the oldest suburban ground in Washington County.

Call (503) 386-0199 Request an estimate

Harry Fauver, founder. Updated September 2026.

Where West Slope sits.

Pick any other dot to open that area.

The trees of West Slope

ZIPs 97225, 97005 and 97008. Partly inside Beaverton, partly unincorporated Washington County.

West Slope was settled from the 1940s on, house by house, under a canopy of native Douglas-fir that was never fully cleared. The result is a neighborhood that feels like it was built inside a forest, because it was.

The firs here are big, even by local standards. Many are well over a century old and a hundred and fifty feet tall, standing a few feet from houses, carports and each other. Trees that size are worth keeping and worth inspecting, since nothing that large fails gently.

Hillside lots complicate everything. Driveways are steep and narrow, there is rarely anywhere to park a chip truck close to the tree, and whatever comes down has to be lowered, because there is always a roof or a road underneath. Removals here take more rigging and more time than the same tree on flat ground.

South toward Denney Road the ground flattens and gets wetter. Along Fanno Creek the trees shift to ash, alder and cottonwood, with the same creek buffer rules and the same emerald ash borer concern as the rest of the creek corridor.

What we are usually called for in West Slope

Inspecting and pruning very large firs

Deadwood, hangers and broken tops removed from firs well over a hundred feet tall, with a close look at the base and the top while the climber is up there. Tree trimming and maintenance.

Technical removals on steep lots

Sectional removal of large firs and maples over houses, with wood lowered and carried out. Some jobs need a road or a lane closed for a few hours. Tree removal.

Trees across driveways and roads

On the hill, one fallen tree can close the only way in. We cut an opening first and return for the rest. Emergency tree service.

Stumps in tight, sloped yards

Large fir stumps reached with a tracked grinder, or dug out where a wall or a parking pad is planned. Stump removal.

Around West Slope

Local landmarks, and what the trees around each one tell you about your own.

The West Slope hillside

Between Canyon Road and the Sunset Highway the streets wind under a nearly closed fir canopy. Trees in a stand like this shelter one another, so removing several at once can expose the rest to wind they have never felt.

Canyon Road and the Sunset Highway

Both corridors funnel east wind in winter. Trees on the exposed edges of lots facing them take more load than the ones behind, and those are the ones we look at first after a storm.

Raleigh West

Flatter, mid-century streets between Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway and Scholls Ferry Road, with a mix of firs, oaks and ornamental trees. Parts are in the city and parts are not, sometimes on the same block.

Fanno Creek at Denney Road

The creek and its trail pass through Denney Whitford in a regulated corridor of ash, alder and cottonwood. Lots that touch it carry buffer restrictions on tree removal.

West Slope, Raleigh West and Denney Whitford on the map. Open in Google Maps

Which tree rules apply in West Slope

This is the most mixed jurisdiction we work in. West Slope is largely unincorporated, Raleigh West and Denney Whitford are largely inside Beaverton, and the line between them is irregular.

Inside Beaverton city limits

The tree between the sidewalk and the street is a street tree. You maintain it, and removing it takes a city permit and normally a replacement from the city's approved list. Cutting 20 percent or more of the crown or roots counts as removal. Street trees have to clear 8 feet over the sidewalk, 12 feet over the street and 14 feet over arterials, and topping them is prohibited.

Most ordinary backyard trees need no permit. The exceptions are the trees the development code protects: significant and historic trees, trees in significant groves and natural resource areas, and landscape or mitigation trees that were kept or planted as a condition of the subdivision. If your lot backs onto a greenway, a creek or a preserved grove, treat the trees along that edge as protected until the Planning Division (503-526-2420) says otherwise.

In unincorporated Washington County

No city tree code applies here, even with a Beaverton or Portland mailing address. The county generally leaves trees on a developed home lot to the owner, with two big exceptions: mapped Significant Natural Resource areas, and the vegetated corridors along creeks and wetlands that Clean Water Services regulates. Cutting inside either can need review, even for a dead tree.

Trees along the road are generally the adjoining owner's responsibility, and a county right-of-way permit is needed when planting or removal affects traffic. Many subdivisions add a layer of their own, with covenants and common-area trees that need the homeowners association's approval. For neighbor disagreements over trees, the county points residents to free community mediation.

Specific to West Slope

Check your property tax statement before anything else. If the City of Beaverton is listed, the city's street tree permit and protected-tree rules apply. If not, you are in unincorporated Washington County, and the questions are whether the tree is in a mapped natural resource area or a creek corridor, and whether work beside the road needs a right-of-way permit. Steep slopes here are one more reason to leave stumps and roots in banks.

The permit checker gives a first answer in two questions, and the permit guide has the detail. We check every tree's status before a job is booked.

Tree services we offer in West Slope

How a job goes

You call or send the form and tell us what the tree is doing. Phone photos help.
We walk the site and write the estimate in plain language.
Permits and the 811 utility locate are sorted out before any saw starts.
On the day, drop zones are protected and anything over a structure is roped down.
We rake, blow and haul, then walk the yard with you before we leave.

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Tree service questions from West Slope

Is West Slope part of Beaverton?

Mostly not. Much of West Slope is unincorporated Washington County with a Portland mailing address, while Raleigh West and Denney Whitford are largely inside Beaverton. Your tax statement shows which you are in, and the tree rules differ.

How do you remove a 150-foot fir next to a house?

From the top down. A climber removes the limbs, then the top, then the trunk in short sections, and everything near the house is lowered on ropes. On steep lots the wood is carried or winched to the truck.

Should I remove a big fir just because it is close to the house?

No. Distance alone is not a defect, and a sound fir is an asset. Have it inspected for root rot, dead tops and cracks. If it is healthy, deadwood removal every few years is usually all it needs.

Do I need a permit to cut a tree on a steep slope?

Inside Beaverton, slope by itself doesn't trigger one, but natural resource areas often follow steep ravines. In the county, mapped resource areas are the test. Either way, keeping roots in a bank is usually wise.

Do you give free estimates in West Slope?

Yes. We walk the site, tell you what the tree needs, and put the scope in writing: what is cut, how it comes down, where the wood and chips go and whether the stump is included. Call (503) 386-0199 or send the form on this page.

Request an estimate

Tell us about the tree and we'll call to set up a site walk. For emergency service, skip the form and call.