Explore March’s By-law of the Month
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Learn everything you
need to know about Vaughan’s Tree Protection By-law
By-laws are put in place to ensure a safe and orderly community
for all who live, work and play in Vaughan. Each month, the City of Vaughan
will explore a different by-law and what it means for you. This month, let’s take
a look at the Tree
Protection By-law 052-2018 (PDF).
Here are the basics
The Tree Protection By-law regulates the planting, maintenance and
removal of trees on public and private property in Vaughan. Under the by-law,
an offence may include cutting down or injuring a tree without a permit,
failing to protect a tree that is identified for protection or failing to
comply with an order.
On public property, it is an offence to:
- injure, destroy, transplant or trim all or any part of a tree.
- attach any object (including a birdhouse, cable, light, sign) to any part of a tree.
- pour any substance that will injure a tree within the drip line of the tree (the area at the outer edge of the spread of the tree’s branches).
On private property,
trees with a diameter of 20 centimetres or more (or a base diameter of 20
centimetres or more) must not be injured, destroyed or removed without having
a permit to do so. To ensure public
safety, the City may prune any part of a tree on private property that extends
over a sidewalk or other public property and may remove any tree the City considers
to be decayed or dangerous.
Permits
There are three types of Tree Removal Permits available through
the Parks, Forestry and Horticulture Operations department. They include:
- Private Tree Removal Application Form for Dead, Hazardous Trees, or Emerald Ash Borer-Infected Ash Trees (PDF)
- This application form is for you to request a permit to remove a privately owned tree that is dead, hazardous or an Emerald Ash Borer-infected Ash tree anywhere in Vaughan.
- Private Tree Removal Application Form Residential (PDF)
- This application form is for you to request a permit to remove a total of five trees or less that are privately owned anywhere in Vaughan.
- Private Tree Removal Application Form for Construction or Infill (PDF)
- This application form is for you to request a permit to remove more than five privately owned trees anywhere in Vaughan.
Service requests
If you suspect a tree on municipal property is in poor health or needs to
be pruned, you can submit a request through Service Vaughan. A forestry inspector will visit the site within 30 business days to
examine the condition of the tree and determine the work to be done. The
forestry inspector will leave you a voice message or door knocker with the
status of your request.
To report a municipal emergency or problem that requires immediate
attention, call Access Vaughan at 905-832-2281. The following problems with
trees on public property are considered a municipal emergency request:
- fallen limb
- fallen tree
- hanging broken branches
- leaning/uprooted tree
- split/cracked tree
For
updates and news as they happen, subscribe to Vaughan News and follow the
official corporate channels on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
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