Civic politicians have strengthened Delta's tree protection legislation.
Passed quickly and without debate at a special meeting last Wednesday afternoon, the new regulations are the result of a review of what other municipalities are doing as well as recommendations by the Delta Naturalists' Society.
In a presentation to Delta council late last year, members of the society raised a number of concerns and recommended a tougher bylaw, making the municipality more proactive in conserving urban forests.
The last time Delta revised its tree protection bylaw was 2006 when it required property owners to obtain a permit and an arborist's report before cutting down trees. However, property owners were allowed to cut one tree per year for any reason, in most instances without having to pay the permit fee or obtain an arborist report.
The updated bylaw only allows one tree to be cut without an arborist's report, or outside of an emergency, every 24 months instead of each calendar year.
Some of the other changes include requiring five replacement trees for every tree cut or damaged without a permit or contrary to a permit and removing the maximum of $2,000 for a permit fee to ensure applications for a large number of trees being cut pay their fair share. It also provides council with the ability to reject applications for 24 months for properties where trees have been cut in violation of the bylaw.
Noting Delta has experienced a decline in tree cover since 2004, a report to council stated there were 91 calls for enforcement related to trees last year, resulting in 15 tickets issued for cutting without a valid permit. Most inspections found that permits existed for trees being cut.
During 2014, 2,403 permits for tree cutting were issued and 2,338 trees were removed. At 1,375, the majority of the permits issued were for the removal of a single tree.
"In 2014, there was a net loss of almost 900 trees in Delta, which is mainly attributable to the replacement exemption for a single tree removed from a property in a calendar year," the report states. "The proposed bylaw revisions and the new Urban Reforestation Project will help to ensure a net gain, rather than a net loss, in the number of trees in Delta."
Noting council has adopted many of the recommendations put forward by the Delta Naturalists, society president Tom Bearss told the Optimist the amendments are a significant improvement and should help protect Delta's trees.
The society's Anne Murray was also pleased, saying the group hopes the bylaw will be accompanied by some positive messaging on the value of trees and perhaps some further recognition of heritage trees.
