Burlington Council Unanimously Approves New Corporate Tree Protection & Enhancement Policy

At our meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 15, Burlington City Council unanimously approved a new Corporate Tree Protection and Enhancement Policy.

MY TAKE: We should always start from the perspective of principles when we're determining, as a city, what we're trying to achieve -- in this case, from a policy that protects and enhances Burlington's tree canopy. I'm glad to see that staff did that in their report. It helps to know why we're doing what we're doing and when we have to have those difficult conversations with the community on why we're protecting trees and why they cannot come down in a particular situation. It will also help our community understand where the City is coming from in its decisions.

This policy applies to all City-owned lands and projects, as well as to private properties and developments within the urban boundary of the City. It does not apply to treed areas within key Natural Heritage Features subject to the City’s and Region’s Natural Heritage System policies.This policy recognizes the numerous benefits and services that the City’s urban forest provides, including contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation, and being central to sustaining Burlington as a prosperous, livable and healthy community. It also recognizes 4 categories of activities that need to happen to make sure our city's urban canopy is healthy and sustainable -- they are:

• Preserve & Protect;
• Maintain & Monitor;
• Establish, Replace & Enhance;
• Engage & Collaborate.

You can read the full draft policy here: Appendix A to RPF-01-22 – Draft PolicyFor all recommendations from the Feb. 3 Environment, Infrastructure & Community Services Committee Meeting that were approved at the Feb. 15 Council Meeting, please see links to the minutes at the bottom of this post.BACKGROUND:Click the links below for the:

• Staff report: RPF-01-22-Proposed Corporate Tree Protection and Enhancement Policy
• Appendix: Appendix A to RPF-01-22 – Draft Policy

The Forestry Protection branch of RPF has identified the need for the City to have a corporate-wide policy for preserving and enhancing trees to help inform future City programs and guidelines that could impact Burlington’s tree canopy. The aim is to make sure that no matter the scale or context of designs, construction or planning, the management of our urban forest and natural assets is done so in a consistent way.The City of Burlington currently has a corporate tree management policy that addresses the need to protect City-owned trees and give compensation for those that need to be removed. Given that Burlington’s urban forest is made up of both public and privately-owned trees, staff want to create a city-wide protection and enhancement policy to ensure things are clearly defined when it comes to the value of trees and the urban forest as a whole. Staff want to ensure both of the City’s tree bylaws have the clearly-defined position of the tree protection policy.In their report, staff note that creating a corporate-wide tree protection and enhancement policy will provide a framework for the consistent management of the City’s urban forest. Long-term, this will support the City’s Vision to Focus goal of achieving 35% canopy cover by 2041, and in doing so, will directly benefit the City’s efforts toward fighting the effects of climate change.RELATED LINKS:

• Proposed Corporate Tree Protection & Enhancement Policy Coming to Burlington Committee
• EICS Meeting Minutes: Post-Meeting Minutes - EICS Committee Meeting Minutes_Feb03_2022
• Council Meeting Minutes: Post-Meeting Minutes - Regular Meeting of Council_Feb15_2022
• Staff report: RPF-01-22-Proposed Corporate Tree Protection and Enhancement Policy
• Appendix: Appendix A to RPF-01-22 – Draft Policy