Tree Permits and the Tree Protection Bylaw in Victoria

The City of Victoria's tree bylaw is the Tree Protection Bylaw, No. 21-035. It applies to trees on private property, including properties that are being developed. The City says a permit may be required to prune or remove a bylaw-protected tree, or to work in its protected root zone.

Under section 23 of the bylaw, a tree permit application must include the fee set out in Schedule A, and the fee is not refundable. If a permit requires replacement trees, or requires protected trees to be kept, security may also be required under section 24. Sections 25 and 26 set the security amounts. Under section 24, total security for a permit cannot be more than $50,000 per development site.

The bylaw and the City's parks page list these protected trees and hedges:

For this bylaw, a hedge is a row of five or more trees of consistent size and form, planted less than 1.25 metres apart, measured centre to centre. A hedge is protected when any single stem in it has a DBH over 30 centimetres.

• A tree with a DBH over 30 centimetres
• A Garry oak, arbutus, Pacific yew or Pacific dogwood over 50 centimetres tall
• A hedge with any single stem over 30 centimetres DBH
• A replacement tree
• A tree protected by a restrictive covenant in favour of the City
• A tree on a slope where the slope grade is greater than 33 per cent over 10 metres
• A tree within 15 metres of the natural boundary of a watercourse

For a tree with a single trunk, DBH is measured 1.4 metres above the existing ground level. For a tree with two or more stems at 1.4 metres, DBH is the total of the diameters of the three largest stems, each measured at 1.4 metres. So a tree made up of two or more smaller stems can still be over the 30-centimetre limit.

Section 8 of the bylaw lists the grounds for a permit to cut or remove a protected tree. The Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities may issue one if satisfied that at least one of these applies:

Removal can also be allowed when the City's Streets and Traffic Bylaw or Trees and Insect Control Bylaw requires or permits it. The City's parks page gives four of these grounds as examples. Even when a ground applies, the Director decides whether to issue the permit.

• The tree is dead or has more than 50 per cent of its crown dead, or is a hazard tree whose risk cannot be mitigated (reduced) another way
• The tree is a regulated invasive plant, or an unregulated invasive plant of concern in British Columbia
• The trunk is within the building envelope, and removal is necessary to construct a building, an addition to a building or an accessory building
• The trunk is outside the building envelope, but a building or addition will critically impact the tree, and the construction cannot be modified or relocated to keep it
• A utility service, driveway or off-street parking area required by zoning will critically impact the tree, and that work cannot be modified or relocated to keep it
• The tree is in the required construction access, and the access cannot be modified to keep it
• The tree is causing, or will soon cause, damage to a structure or infrastructure that cannot be mitigated other than by removing it
• The tree grows above a built substructure, patio or rooftop, and removing it is necessary to repair that structure

Tree information must be provided, and tree permits may be required, for development-related applications. The bylaw defines these as:

The City's parks page says accessory buildings include garden suites. The definition does not include applications only for a change of use, interior works, plumbing or electrical permits, or exterior material replacement.

Section 21 of the bylaw sets a tree minimum for some development projects. It applies when an owner applies for a building permit and a tree permit as part of a development-related application. The lot must then have at least the tree minimum once all replacement trees are planted. The tree minimum is the minimum number of trees per lot set out in Schedule F. If the replacement trees alone do not reach it, the owner must plant more. A building permit for demolition only does not need to meet the tree minimum. The City's tree bylaw page links to a calculator for working out the number.

• Rezoning
• Subdivision
• Development permits or temporary use permits linked to a new building or an addition to an existing building
• Development variance permits, heritage alteration permits or building permits linked to demolition, blasting or construction of a principal building (the main building on a lot)
• Those permits linked to construction of an accessory building or an addition to an existing building that is greater than 10 square metres, excluding deck, patio and balcony areas

Under section 20 of the bylaw, the owner must plant replacement trees on the same lot for every protected tree removed. For most trees, that means one tree of a species listed in Part 1 of Schedule E. Sometimes a Part 1 tree cannot be planted because of grade, topography, tree location, soil depth or other requirements of the site. Then the Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities may allow two trees from Part 2 instead.

For a removed hedge, the owner plants one Part 1 tree for each 4 metres of hedge length removed, or part of 4 metres. The owner can instead plant a new hedge of the same length. If neither is possible for those site reasons, the Director may allow two Part 2 trees for each 4 metres, or part of 4 metres.

If replacement trees will not fit on your lot, you can give the City evidence of that, for example because of the lot's size or characteristics. If the Director accepts the evidence, you must pay $2,000 cash in lieu for each replacement tree that cannot fit. Cash in lieu means paying money instead of planting. Under section 20(7) of the bylaw, no cash in lieu is needed when the removed tree was a hazard tree removed under the bylaw.

When a permit requires replacement trees, or requires protected trees to be kept, the applicant must give the City security. The security can be cash or a letter of credit, which is a bank document that guarantees payment.

Oakstead is an arborist consulting firm, and we do not issue permits. We can measure your trees, tell you which ones may meet the City's protected-tree definition, and prepare an arborist report or tree protection plan if your application needs one. Air Spading lets us look at roots without cutting them. Digging in a protected root zone may itself need a City tree permit, so we check that first. Hands-on tree work goes to local partners.