Sep 30

Tree Protection

One the reasons we were originally attracted to our home was the large maple tree that sits in the front yard. It’s quite large and quite beautiful, but we’ve come to realize that a large maple tree equals mountains of leaves in the fall and dead grass around it (who knew grass needed light to grow? Shocking, I know.) Regardless, we knew the tree was something we wanted to keep when began this renovation. What we didn’t realize was that we don’t actually own the tree, we had to erect a protection wall around it, and we needed to provide the city with a $5,089 deposit.

Trees protected by city by-laws may not be removed, injured or destroyed in any way without written authorization from the city. And that covers all parts of the tree — roots included. Tree pruning and root cutting may only be done by the City of Toronto, Urban Forestry Services. No exceptions.

Trees situated on City property are obviously covered by these by-laws, but in some instances trees on private property are covered as well. In our case, we had a smaller tree next to our garage that needed to removed before we started construction. To determine if we could actually remove it, we needed to measure the diameter of trunk at 1.4 meters off the ground, which was (luckily) 28cm. Had it been 30cm or larger, we would have needed to apply for permission and possibly paid a fee for its removal (had we been allowed to remove it at all).

The deposit acts as a form of insurance against damage, and is held until construction is complete. It includes the appraised value of the tree (as determined by the city), plus the costs required to remove and replant a replacement. So if the tree is harmed in any way, the city will keep a portion — or all — of the deposit, depending on the type, duration and impact of the damage done.

To help safeguard the tree, you must also erect a protection wall. Depending on the size of the tree, the wall must sit a minimum distance around the trunk. In our case, it needed to sit 3m away, stand 2.4m high and be made of plywood.

Definitely a lot of effort to ensure the safety of the tree… but I’d say it’s worth it (even if I’ll have to climb on the roof and shovel off mounds of leaves at least once a year!)

Post Tags: barrier, city, deposit, protection, tree, Wall