Tree rules and permits in Cowichan Valley Regional District electoral areas

The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) has a planning glossary and frequently asked questions (FAQ) page. One question asks, "Can I cut down a tree (or trees) and do I need a permit?" The answer says, "The CVRD does not have a tree cutting bylaw." It goes on to say a permit may be required if the tree is in a development permit area.

The CVRD Bylaw Directory also lists no tree or tree cutting bylaw. The directory says it is not a complete list of regional district bylaws and may not show the latest amendments. Before you start, ask the CVRD whether any bylaw limits tree work on your land.

This page covers the CVRD's own rules. It does not cover rules set by any other local government, so check with yours if your property is outside the CVRD electoral areas.

The CVRD describes a development permit area as "an area where extra care is needed during development because of special features of the land." The natural hazards it names include flooding, erosion, steep slopes and wildfire.

The CVRD FAQ says that, depending on where your property is and the type of project, you may need a development permit before you remove trees or vegetation. You can use the CVRD Web Map to find out whether your property is in a development permit area. If you are not sure, the FAQ says to contact the CVRD Development Services Division before starting any work, including land clearing or tree removal.

The CVRD web page for the Official Community Plan for Electoral Areas Bylaw No. 4373 links to two related files. One is Schedule C, Development Permit Areas. The other is Schedule U, the development permit area maps. Both files carry the date November 26, 2025.

The CVRD Development Bylaws, Policies & Resources page links to Development Permit Exemptions and Guidelines, which is CVRD Bylaw No. 4485. Schedule C says that bylaw holds the list of exemptions for each development permit area. Ask Development Services whether an exemption could apply to your project.

Schedule C of the CVRD's Official Community Plan, Bylaw No. 4373, sets out Development Permit Area 1, Riparian Protection. It covers the parts of the electoral areas shown for it on the Schedule U maps. The area included is the riparian assessment area, as defined by the provincial Riparian Areas Protection Regulation.

Schedule C defines that area. For a stream, it is the 30 metre strip on both sides, measured from the high-water mark. For a ravine less than 60 metres wide, it runs from the high-water mark to 30 metres beyond the top of the ravine bank. For a ravine 60 metres wide or more, it runs to 10 metres beyond the top of the ravine bank.

Schedule C says the exemptions for each development permit area are in CVRD Bylaw No. 4485. For Development Permit Area 1, that bylaw says a development permit is not required for some activities. One is gardening and yard maintenance in an existing landscaped area, such as mowing lawns, pruning trees and shrubs, and planting. Minor soil disturbance that does not change the general contours of the land is included.

Another is building a fence, if only non-native trees are removed and native vegetation is disturbed no more than 0.5 metres either side of it. Emergency actions to prevent, control or reduce an immediate threat to human life, the natural environment or property are also exempt. These include removing or modifying trees certified by an arborist to be hazardous. The bylaw lists other exemptions too, so ask Development Services whether one fits your work.

The CVRD FAQ gives a shorter summary: "A Development Permit is required before carrying out any kind of land-altering work within 30m of a body of water." The bylaw text above sets out the exact area and the exemptions. The FAQ says a riparian area is "the land beside a lake, river, stream, bog, wetland, creek, pond, and sometimes ditches." It also lists removing trees or vegetation as work that may need a development permit.

A provincial rule also deals with development near streams. It is the Riparian Areas Protection Regulation, British Columbia Regulation 178/2019 (B.C. Reg. 178/2019). The regulation took effect on November 1, 2019, and replaced the older Riparian Areas Regulation, B.C. Reg. 376/2004.

Under section 8(1), the riparian assessment area for a stream is a 30 metre strip on each side of the stream, measured from the stream boundary. Section 8(2) sets a different measurement for streams in ravines. Section 9(1) says the streamside protection and enhancement area is part of that assessment area.

The regulation defines development to include "the addition, removal or alteration of soil, vegetation or a building or other structure." Trees are not named in that wording. Before you remove a tree near a stream, ask the CVRD or the province whether the regulation applies to your work.

The CVRD FAQ says, "Tree cutting should occur during identified low-risk timing periods (mid-September to January)." If your project allows it, plan tree cutting for that window. If tree cutting must happen outside it, the FAQ says a thorough nest search should be done.

The same FAQ says removal or modification of a nest tree requires written permission, in the form of a permit, from the Ministry of Environment. It says a federal permit may also be required.

On August 12, 2009, the CVRD adopted Bylaw No. 2020, the Landclearing Management Regulation Bylaw, 2009. The CVRD Bylaw Directory describes it as "a bylaw to regulate the burning of landscaping debris." The CVRD's copy of the bylaw, as amended by Bylaw No. 3322, is consolidated for convenience only. The original bylaws are the legal version.

The bylaw applies in the CVRD electoral areas, except the part of Electoral Area G within the Thetis Island Improvement District. It covers landclearing debris piled or stacked by heavy equipment, and Regulated Quantities of landclearing debris. Landclearing debris means stumps, root mats, branches, brush, logs or vegetation.

Regulated Quantities means three or more piles each no more than 2 metres high and 3 metres wide. It also means one or more piles over 2 metres high or 3 metres wide, or debris in windrows. Stubble and grass are not included. The bylaw does not apply to normal farm practices under the Farm Practices Protection Act. It also does not apply to a forest practice under the Forest and Range Practices Act, or to land classed by BC Assessment as Property Assessment Class 7.

Under the bylaw, an air curtain burner must be used for all open burning of this debris. Using an air curtain burner must be registered with the CVRD Public Safety Department before disposal starts, on the bylaw's Schedule A form. The form says it must be returned to the CVRD Public Safety Office before burn ignition. A person with operator certification must supervise the burner at all times.

The bylaw does not replace federal, provincial or local rules on disposing of landclearing debris, or local fire restrictions. The CVRD landclearing page also says this debris must be chipped, ground or reused on site. It says the debris may be burned only with an air curtain or trench burner if no suitable alternative is available. The chipping rule comes from that page, not the bylaw text. If you are not sure which rule fits your debris, ask the CVRD before you burn.

These steps are general good practice for tree work in Cowichan Valley. They are not legal advice.

• Use the CVRD Web Map to check whether your land is in a development permit area. If a tree is in one, removing it may need a development permit. If you are not sure, ask CVRD Development Services before you cut trees or clear land.
• Check how close the work is to water. Land near a stream, lake or wetland may be in the CVRD's riparian development permit area, shown on its Schedule U maps. For a stream, that area is the 30 metre strip on both sides, and it reaches further where the stream runs through a ravine. CVRD Bylaw No. 4485 lists work that does not need a permit there, such as pruning in an existing landscaped area.
• Look for nests before you cut or prune. B.C.'s Wildlife Act makes it an offence to destroy a bird's nest while it holds a bird or egg, unless a regulation allows it. The nests of eagles, peregrine falcons, gyrfalcons, ospreys, herons and burrowing owls are covered whether or not they are in use.
• Plan tree cutting for the low-risk period the CVRD suggests, mid-September to January.
• Hire an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist for pruning or removal. ISA says tree work should be done only by people trained and equipped to work safely in trees.
• If a tree may be unsafe, ask for a tree risk assessment from an arborist with the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ).
• Do not top trees. ISA calls topping perhaps the most harmful tree pruning practice known. Ask for pruning to follow a published standard, such as the ANSI A300 tree care standards.

Before you cut or clear land, we can look at your trees and site and help you prepare questions for CVRD Development Services. If a review calls for it, we write the arborist report and tree protection plan. Air Spading lets us check roots near planned work without cutting them. Hands-on tree work goes to vetted local partners.