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New bylaw to protect single trees could take root in Barrie

'Current tree bylaws do not speak to or cover individual trees,' says Coun. Jim Harris; Protection of specific trees often a matter between neighbours

Should a tree falling in the city sound alarms?

Barrie staff will conduct a cost/benefit analysis associated with individual or single-tree bylaws to mitigate future damage of privately owned trees due to private construction and excavation projects and report back to city councillors, likely in the fall.

“We don’t have a bylaw that captures (this), so it’s really a civil matter… between you and your neighbour,” Coun. Jim Harris said about when a tree on one property, or its roots, is damaged by construction on another. “The city’s not a part of it. We don’t have any tools… to be involved. It really becomes a matter between the two neighbours.

“The current tree bylaws do not speak to or cover individual trees," he added. 

Barrie’s 1990 tree preservation bylaw regulates the injury or destruction of trees in woodlots, of at least half an acre in size and with a tree density from 250 to 1,000 trees.

“It doesn’t really capture well your residential properties for the most part that are being impacted by excavation,” Harris said.

Provincial and city laws allow a detached home, in addition to a second suite in the main house, on one property. And proposed changes to Barrie’s zoning bylaw would address barriers to housing affordability, clarify definitions, update development standards for second suites and detached accessory dwellings, and improve implementation of the bylaw to support affordable housing initiatives.

One detached accessory dwelling unit, containing one dwelling unit, could be permitted per lot as an accessory use to a single-detached dwelling, a duplex dwelling, a semi-detached dwelling unit and a street townhouse. Which means more private construction and excavation of accessory housing units. 

“Seventy-five per cent of the trees in Barrie are on private property, 90 per cent of the (residential) properties in Barrie are eligible for detached secondary dwelling construction,” Arlene McCann, who lives in the Allandale area, said at city council’s Aug. 9 meeting. “These two facts put two-thirds of the city of Barrie’s trees in danger.”

Cathy Colebatch, another Allandale resident who spoke at the meeting, said a bylaw protecting single trees is long overdue.

“Some of these trees are 100, 125 years old,” she said. “I’ve got a big red oak next to me that’s more than 10 feet in circumference.

"These need to be protected, and not just from excavation," Colebatch added. 

Coun. Sergio Morales, also speaking at the Aug. 9 meeting, agreed.

“Boundary trees… need to be protected and their root systems,” he said. “There needs to be that cost analysis of the benefit of basically doing a little extra homework versus 'oops, we killed the root system' and it’s gone.”

He also mentioned assigning a value to the trees, and replanting or paying a fee if there’s damage.

“Let’s aim to find a delicate balance between preserving trees… but also realizing we want more units (residential density),” Morales said.

So-called 'heritage trees' are also protected under the tree preservation bylaw, those formally designated by city council as being unique and of importance to Barrie in terms of distinctive form, size, age and/or historical significance.