"Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them."  -  Bill Vaughan  

I was recently asked why Whitchurch-Stouffville does not have a tree bylaw. A resident was concerned with trees being removed on an adjacent property, and wondered if the Town bears some responsibility in protecting the tree canopy.

Well, the answer is not quite as simple as yes or no. Because Whitchurch-Stouffville has both urban and rural areas, the tree coverage is both quite extensive and varied. We are home to several Region of York owned and controlled forests tracts, as well as many private woodlots and forested areas. In the rural areas, many land owners preserve and manage their own woodlots, some by choice as a source of timber and or fuel-wood, others due to simply wishing to enjoy the natural beauty of their properties. As well, many of the lands which are still farmed have extensive hedgerows as well as wooded areas in ravines and other less agriculturally productive areas.

At the other extreme are the urban areas. The older areas of the villages established in the late 1800's and early 1900's may also be very well treed, but due to not being able to naturally reforest themselves, are aging and in many cases dying out. The newer mid to late 20th century neighbourhoods have a varied but lighter canopy, and of course the newest areas built following the arrival of the "big pipe" in the village of Stouffville have very limited tree cover. 

The Region of York has a Forest Conservation Bylaw, available here protects areas defined as forests and wood lots in York Region. Under the bylaw, landowners require a permit before they can remove trees from treed areas greater than 0.2 hectares (0.5 acres). A permit must be obtained before any trees are injured or removed.Two permits are available, the Good Forestry Practices Permit and the Special Permit. Please contact York Region Forestry at forestry@york.ca or 905-830-4444 Ext. 73000 to learn which permit applies to your planned tree removal. This however does not preclude farmers from managing hedgerows and other marginal areas to facilitate good farming practices.

In the urban areas, this bylaw does not apply as the coverage of trees does not qualify as a forest or wood lot. In the Town parks, trees were  managed by the leisure Services Dept under the guidance of contract arborists. However this arrangement has now been changed as the Town has hired an in-house arborist and tree specialist to perform this service. 

This Town paid for management of course does not extend to private land owners, and as such residents are free to do as they wish with their own trees. Applicable laws regarding protection and responsibility regarding neighbouring properties and risk or damage due to trees still applies, and residents are encouraged to act accordingly if unsafe trees are on their properties. It is always a good idea to have a professional look at your trees if you are unsure yourself.

In the case of development of raw land, our planning dept as takes into account the current tree canopy and plans according to both provincial and regional guidelines in an effort to protect as much of the natural heritage as possible. 

Some might ask why many other Municipalities, including some in York Region have tree protection governing trees beyond the scope of the Region's, but not Whitchurch-Stouffville., and the question is answered in the diversity of our tree coverage as described above. A tree growing in an urban setting may be worth protecting,, may not be if it were at the edge of a farmer's field or in a semi forested area in a rural residential setting. A bylaw to cover all situations and possibilities would be very difficult to create, and as such until now, staff and council have resisted the urge to provide one. We would rather leave tree protection to the common sense of residents, who after all own the land, and are free to do as they please and so we must trust them to be good stewards of the land on their own. 

As always, for further info, or if you wish to comment about this or any other issue, please feel free to contact me any time.