[CANUFNET] Tree Bylaws and infrastructure conflicts

[Ward, Greg]

Guy,
    For trees located on public property we have one over-arching very simple by-law that states 'thou shall not wilfully damage' etc any tree on city property.  As well, we have a by law that requires all residents to maintain the boulevard section of the road allowance, including vegetation.  So, the public are expected to maintain the boulevard on city road allowance, including the trees, but not damage the trees.
 
    In practice, however, we actually have a two tiered approach to the maintenance of trees on city owned boulevard road allowance and we take great steps to make residents aware of this practice
        Tier 1.  any tree that is planted by the city or an agent of the city as part of a street tree comprehensive planting program is maintained entirely by the city. 
        Tier 2. all other trees are to be maintained by the resident.  The only exception is if we get a call about a Tier 2  tree and it is evaluated by staff as in need of hazard abatement (whole or part tree failure) we will take steps to rectify.
 
    In terms of your inquiry below we will mitigate all root related infrastructure conflicts for Tier 1 trees at city expense.  We set a budget amount every year for that work and only conduct the work on demand from residents.
 
    For tier 2 trees the resident is responsible to resolve the issue and we provide residents with references to the two by-laws mentioned above, provide them with general recommendations as to what steps they can take at their expense to rectify the conflict, recommend they hire a certified arborist to conduct any necessary work and that the arborist is skilled in root mitigation work.  We also remind them that the work must be done in accordance with arboriculture best practices, making them aware that the health and structural stability of the tree is critical.
 
    The above approach seems to work, not all residents are happy that they are responsible for Tier 2 trees and can't remove them when they wish, or that the city will not help with their maintenance.  Very few of these issues get bumped to me to resolve so my guess is the unhappiness is not too great.  As well, all things considered, we find very little non-compliance by the residents.
 
    Lastly, with the above, there are always exceptions to the practices.  Those are best described in a conversation.
 
hope this helps,
 
Greg Ward 
Manager, Urban Forestry and Environmental Programs 
City of Surrey, B.C. 
604 501 5170 

'Nature matters, 
protect, enhance, enjoy' 

   

-----Original Message-----
From: canufnet-bounces at list.web.net [mailto:canufnet-bounces at list.web.net]On Behalf Of Sadia Butt
Sent: October 30, 2008 8:18 AM
To: Canadian Urban Forest Network
Subject: Re: [CANUFNET] Tree Bylaws and infrastructure conflicts


Hello Guy, 
 
Check city of Toronto and Mississauga....and to get some wisdom you must talk to John McNeil, Forest Manager in Oakville re: obstacle and draw-backs regarding tree-by-laws. He really is knowledgeable regarding the issues of tree by-laws.
 
Toronto has a great link here to there tree by-laws.
 
http://www.toronto.ca/trees/bylaws_policies.htm
 
 
Mississauga was working on a street tree by-law while I was on the Urban Forestry Technical Committee. It may not have yet gone to council. Contact Gavin Longmuir  for that.
 
Here are others:
 
tree permit by-law
http://www.mississauga.ca/file/COM/TREE_PERMIT.PDF
 
http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/home?paf_gear_id=9700018 <http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/home?paf_gear_id=9700018&itemId=300012> &itemId=300012
 
parks by-law has some interesting tree related stuff
http://www.mississauga.ca/file/COM/parks.pdf
 
encroachment by-law is interesting:
http://www.mississauga.ca/file/COM/Encroachment_By_law.pdf


On Wed, Oct 29, 2008 at 11:54 AM, Guy Martin < gbmartin at langleycity.ca> wrote:


Hello all,

 

Well we are finally getting into the 21st century and have a new director that wants to start drafting some tree bylaws.

I know that this has been discussed on this network at length but pose this question yet again. I am looking for links to other municipalities for their tree bylaws…we do not want to reinvent the wheel by any means, so I am asking for your assistance.

 

The first thing that they would like me to look into is tree root and infrastructure conflicts on our property in regards to private dwellings (driveways mainly) and commercial frontages. According to the interpretation of the Municipal Insurance Authority on this issue, once a situation has been brought to our attention, we are obligated to ensure that no further damage occurs. Our measures may include tree removal (when necessary), root mitigation (when possible) and the like. We are not responsible for the repairs unless they worsen or continue, due to our lack of action.

 

The issue at play here is that when the repairs are being done, who is going to look after the tree and specifically the roots.

My director has suggested three options:

 

1.       City repair with estimate, cost going to homeowner (repairs only to property line)

2.       An approved list of contractors, ones that understand the dynamics involved 

3.       Work performed by anyone with a certified arborist on site that will submit a report to the City of Langley

 

We prefer either 1 or 3 as the standard to be used. So with all that said, I am curious as to how other municipalities handle these issues along with the relevant bylaws.

 

Thank you, 

 

Guy Martin

 




-- 
Sadia Butt BSc., MFC.
Projects Consultant, A.C.E.R.
phone #1: 416-622-2494
phone #2: 905 275-7685
email: sadiabutt.ca@ gmail.com
Website: www.acer-acre.org


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.web.net/pipermail/canufnet/attachments/20081031/25ab38a2/attachment.htm>