City of Powell River’s tree protection bylaw does not go far enough to protect the area’s endangered trees, according to Townsite resident Patricia Barnsley, who made a presentation to the city’s committee of the whole on Tuesday, June 13.
Barnsley told the committee she was walking on the old Townsite golf course lands earlier this spring and discovered an Arbutus tree had been cut down for surveying work. She added that she is worried about other trees on the land.
“The pressure is on for the public to become really aware of what we will lose,” said Barnsley.
Many surveyor lines have been cut across the land, including one that creates two 10-acre lots for the city’s future consolidated wastewater treatment plant. The land is currently owned by PRSC Limited Partnership, a corporation co-owned by City of Powell River and Tla’amin Nation.
Regarding the Arbutus tree that was cut down, city councillor Russell Brewer said it is common for tree-cutting bylaws to grant exemptions for surveyors creating site lines. He added that trees with nests are protected from being cut by provincial law.
Brewer said although the trees Barnsley is concerned about are not specifically identified in the bylaw, they are protected “in a roundabout way” due to the fact that developers need to apply for a development permit. Those particular trees have been brought to the city’s attention, added Brewer.
City director of infrastructure Tor Birtig told the committee he had looked at the map Barnsley provided and identified the location of walnut, maple and fir trees. Birtig confirmed the trees are located outside of where the treatment plant will be located.
Barnsley said she is not against development of the former golf course lands, but indicated she would like to see protection for the rare butternut-walnut trees and a Douglas fir that has an eagle’s nest in it.
She said she would like to see the city adopt regulations similar to City of Victoria’s tree-preservation bylaw that protects specific tree species, including Garry oak, arbutus, Pacific dogwood and Pacific yew.
While City of Powell River’s bylaw does not list protected tree species, it does specify trees that have historical significance.
As it is currently written, the bylaw applies only to trees on city-owned properties and does not apply to trees on privately owned lots smaller than 2.5 acres, privately managed forest land or PRSC-owned lands in Lot 450 subject to Island Timberlands’ timber licence reservation.
The bylaw does, however, apply to trees standing on lands within city development permit and environmentally sensitive areas.
City councillor Karen Skadsheim said at the meeting she likes the idea of expanding Powell River’s tree protections.
“I like the Victoria one,” said Skadsheim. “Our bylaw mentions trees that are on city property only, not trees on private property.”
Skadsheim added that the Victoria bylaw requires owners to apply for a city permit to prune, remove or alter protected trees.
Brewer said after the meeting that with increased development in the city, revisiting the bylaw is timely.
“The bylaw is 10 years old, so it’s worth taking a look and updating it,” said Brewer.
Brewer added that including specific tree species in the bylaw makes sense, but moving to increase regulation of privately owned trees is something that requires a thorough community consultation.
“You can’t just go about this without consulting the community,” he said. “We have to put some ideas out there, have some consultations and get a sense of what people think.”
Brewer added that it took longer than a year for City of Courtenay to work through a public process to develop its tree protection bylaw.
