Markham planting seeds for new tree-preservation bylaw

yorkregion.com
April 25, 2017
By Tim Kelly

Markham council has begun to grow some new roots in its effort to revamp its tree-preservation bylaw.

How much the bylaw will be changed or altered was unclear based on the initial working session council engaged in Tuesday morning at Markham Civic Centre.

Staff went through a PowerPoint presentation describing the purpose of its tree preservation bylaw, which was enacted in 2008, along with measures such as enforcement, fines and next measures.

It was discovered that in 2016 just 19 per cent of tree removal requests were denied and only nine tree removal appeals were filed.

Markham's target for tree canopy and vegetation cover of its urban area is 30 per cent; its current cover is just 18 per cent.

The goal for the city is to hit a target of 20-35 per cent by 2051.

Staff blames urban forest pressures such as infestations of the emerald ash borer and Asian Long-horned beetle, extreme weather events like the 2013 ice storm and 2016 summer drought and redevelopment and intensification for hurting tree canopy and vegetation targets for Markham.

To push the tree canopy above 18 per cent staff recommends pushing preservation before replacement and compensation; the protection; ensure transparency and fairness in application of the tree-preservation bylaw; and make sure the urban forest is a high-value City asset.

Resident Peter Miasek, who made recommendations to the committee, said he sees the working session as a “continuous improvement opportunity.”

“The priority sequence is to preserve first, if you can’t do that replace on the property, if you can’t do that then compensate,” he said about the tree process.

He called the working session a good start.

He called the blend of tree-preservation viewpoints on council mixed with “some people who see a need for relief from the bylaw, another school of thought that sees we need to compensate (for tree removal) at a higher level.”

Council will take another long look at the tree-preservation bylaw in a second working session, date to be determined though it is expected in the fall, before settling on a final updated bylaw.