Tree Bylaw

Central Saanich’s Tree Management Bylaw has been adopted.

The District has noted significant tree canopy loss since the year 2000. Coupled with the fact a significant amount of land in Central Saanich is cleared for farming, the District aims to slow down tree loss and increase tree canopy coverage over time.

Included in the bylaw update is the protection of trees 30 cm or more in diameter and a mandate that when a protected tree is removed it is replaced with up to three trees to enable the canopy to grow back quicker.

“Trees are a huge part of what make Central Saanich special,” said Central Saanich Mayor Ryan Windsor. “We are also doing what we can to mitigate the effects of climate change, and tree preservation plays a role in capturing and storing carbon, provide wildlife habitat and provide significant community benefits”

Tree preservation is a widely recognized measure to adapt to climate change by sequestering carbon, helping with storm water management, reducing the urban heat island effect, and providing habitat and enhancing biodiversity.

Council identified a Tree Protection Review in the 2019 Strategic Plan. District staff initiated a review of the current Tree Bylaw and, with the help of a consultant, drafted a new Tree Management Bylaw. After community input, the bylaw was revised; examples include changes to encourage replacement trees be native species and protecting mature Big-leaf Maples due to importance in First Nation culture and as wildlife habitat. Council adopted the new Bylaw on June 28, 2021.

For more information on tree removal and plantings visit: https://www.centralsaanich.ca/home-property-development/tree-removal-and-planting

The Tree Management Bylaw was recently presented to Council. Staff were asked to review alternatives to the property owner hiring an arborist. Staff interviewed various local governments and will provide an overview of the results and a recommendation for moving forward with the District Tree Management program at the Council meeting scheduled for June 28th.

Find the agenda and link to the livestream of the meeting: http://centralsaanich.civicweb.net

Thank you to everyone who's shared feedback!

Staff are in the process of gathering information received as part of the public engagement phase of the Tree Bylaw update. Once the results have been compiled, staff would be looking at making amendments to the draft tree bylaw as currently proposed. After this, a report would be prepared for Council and the (amended) bylaw would be presented to Council for their consideration.

To gather public input on the draft tree bylaw before presenting a final draft of the bylaw to Council, we held two virtual open house sessions for the public in January.

It’s not too late to share your feedback

You can view the presentation here. You’re also welcome to read the proposed bylaw.

Tell us what you think before February 15 by taking the Tree Bylaw Survey or emailing or phoning Ivo van der Kamp at 236-638-3520, Ivo.VanderKamp@csaanich.ca

To accompany the proposed update to the tree bylaw, a tree species reference guide has been developed to guide replacement tree decisions. For a replacement species to be acceptable to the District, its selection must be appropriate for the location context in terms of the site considerations and suitable locations defined in the table. Several attributes are provided to inform selection of a suitable species in different location contexts. In terms of future climate suitability, warmer and drier summers will favour species tolerant of dry to very dry sites.

Learn more about the draft tree bylaw and ask questions of staff, as well as provide feedback, at a virtual open house:

Thursday, January 28 from 10 am to 11 am. Registration is required: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMsdOmoqTspHNN2dTePrg40HmBfK3_2C4XZ

Saturday, January 30 from 10 am to 11 am. Registration is required: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcsfumgpjgiGtc-f6ZvNT7v5J_OfKoUwm4V

Council identified a Tree Protection Review in the 2019 Strategic Plan. Staff initiated a review of the current Tree Bylaw and, with the help of a consultant, drafted a new Tree Management Bylaw.

We want your input!

Highlights of the new bylaw include:

• Introducing a Tree Density Target of 50 trees per hectare
• Trees 20 cm or more in diameter are protected
• Removals of any protected tree must be replaced with three trees, up to the target density, to get the canopy to grow back quicker
• New application fees to recover District costs. There would be no cost to remove hazardous trees, a $75 base fee plus $25 per tree to a maximum of $200, and a fee of $75 to amend a permit.
• Landscape deposit required for replacement trees until trees established
• Cash in lieu option for when trees cannot be planted on the same property to fund planting on municipal property
• Tree retention incentivized with credit for retention of trees
• Tree removal on lands within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) remains exempt from the requirement for a permit, however, a written statement from the owner declaring that the trees are to be removed for an agricultural use is required.

View the bylaw.

Questions or comments?

Comments can be emailed to planning@csaanich.ca.

With questions, please contact Ivo van der Kamp at 236-638-3520.