Tree Bylaw Review - Axed for 2025

Any review or update of the Tree Protection Bylaw (the "Tree Bylaw") that residents may be expecting has now been put off to 2026. As you may recall, the Tree Bylaw came into being in March 2023, without any public consultation. At that time council directed staff to undertake a comprehensive public engagement process and provide an updated schedule of strategic initiatives within a one year time frame.

A Committee of the Whole meeting was held on April 17, 2024 at which members of the public were invited to provide their comments on the Tree Bylaw. Presumably, this was the comprehensive public engagement contemplated by Council when the Tree Bylaw was brought into force. In fact, it was the first opportunity for public input on the Tree Bylaw. Numerous persons provided comments, some pro, some con. At the conclusion of the meeting, Mayor Westbroek stated that the meeting was a valid exercise to provide a check-in on the Tree Bylaw rather than waiting for the end of the year, that council wanted to know what kind of feed back there was, that the Town would act on it as soon as it has time and that the comments would be taken seriously. That was in April 2024.

At the November 1, 2024 meeting, Council passed resolutions relating to strategic plans for the years 2025 - 2029. One of the resolutions was to retain a consultant to undertake public engagement, research and update the Tree Bylaw, with a budget allocation of $40,000 in fiscal year 2025. From this it was assumed that a review of the Tree Bylaw would take place in 2025, with Q3 or Q4 mentioned at various times although at a recent council meeting a comment was made about the review not being conducted until 2028.

A resolution passed at the Council meeting on July 23, 2025 may end the confusion. The resolution in question was one of a number related to the proposed purchase of the Eaglecrest Golf Course by the Town. The preamble to the resolution stated that staff and financial resources, currently committed to certain of the Town's strategic and capital plans, will need to be reallocated to support the purchase of the golf course. The update of the Tree Bylaw will be a victim of the reallocation of time and money as the resolution specifically deferred such review to fiscal 2026.

To recap: The Tree Bylaw was passed in March 2023 without any public input. Public input was received in April 2024 with the promise that the comments received would be taken seriously and acted upon. A review of the Tree Bylaw was budgeted for fiscal 2025. That review is now pushed out to fiscal 2026. Assuming that this schedule is adhered to, it will be approximately three years from the enactment of the Tree Bylaw (need I say, without public consultation). This is not good enough. The public deserves better.

James Noel

July 25, 2025

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