By Dominic Abassi

Two significant cases of illegal tree cutting in Nanaimo headed to court

Nov 7, 2016 | 12:52 PM

NANAIMO — The city of Nanaimo is headed to court over two significant cases of alleged illegal tree cutting.

Court documents show a homeowner is charged with 41 counts of cutting down trees, which is a municipal bylaw infraction. In the other case, the homeowner is facing 25 counts of cutting down trees and one count of destroying a steep slope and vegetation required to control erosion and protect banks. Both alleged infractions occurred on developed, ocean-front properties.

“At the present time we’ve received a couple of complaints with regards to illegal tree removal in Nanaimo,” said Kevin Brydges, an environmental protection officer with the city. “They have been investigated and at this time the city is proceeding with charges…and those are in front of the courts at this present time.”

According to the court files, the 41 counts are related to alleged removal between Aug. 25 and Sept. 4 of this year. The 25 counts stem from alleged activity between July 15 and July 18, according to the files. Brydges says the city’s current bylaw allows homeowners to remove up to four “non-significant” trees per year without a permit. He says to take out more than four or to remove a tree considered significant, a permit must be applied for.

Brydges says a new bylaw passed in Dec. 2013 allows the city to hand out infraction tickets for illegal tree removal, starting at $500 per tree. Any penalty over $500 per tree proceeds through the courts, according to Brydges. He says the maximum penalty the city can apply for is $10,000 per tree. Since the new bylaw came into effect, Brydges says the city has only been to court once, in 2015, over a disputed ticket. He says they have applied for fines of around $10,000 on two other occasions. He would not disclose how much the fine was in the two cases before the courts.

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“When we look at enforcement…we’re looking at various numbers of things to determine which route we take,” he said. “Things like previous infractions, previous meetings or contact with city staff regarding trees…the number of trees, the size and also the consequences of the removal.”

Brydges says a person’s knowledge of the tree removal bylaw, as well as what potential advice they may have received in the past from staff, play a big role in deciding how stiff the penalty will be. He notes there is often a much larger impact than people realize when significant trees are removed. Slope stability, sedimentation into watercourses, destruction of fish or other protected habitat are just some of the potential issues, according to Brydges.

Patrick McIntosh, the city’s urban forestry coordinator, says a new bylaw will be in front of council shortly that would, if passed, expand what is considered a significant or protected tree in Nanaimo. McIntosh says the new rules would classify any tree with a diameter breast height of greater than 30 centimetres significant. He says the city quite often approves permits to remove significant trees or more than four per year, but homeowners need to make sure they are following the rules. Protection of trees is a priority to people in Nanaimo based on public opinion expressed in surveys, McIntosh says.

There are typically three main reasons why people illegally remove trees, according to Brydges.

“To facilitate development, to speed up the process…the second big one is to enhance views and the third would be unfamiliarity with the bylaw,” he said.

The first appearance in the case related to 41 counts is Nov. 8. The case involving 25 counts gets going in Nanaimo Provincial Court Nov. 15.