That the following actions be taken with respect to the draft Tree Protection By-law:
a) that the Civic Administration BE ADVISED of the following comments from the Trees and Forests Advisory Committee with respect to the draft Tree Protection By-law:
-concern the by-law is about how to remove a tree, rather than how to protect and plant more trees;
-focus on trees and future trees, without legal or political barriers;
-need to consider tree protection at a generational scale, not human scale in context of climate change, wildlife (cavity trees) and the environment;
-must protect young trees or replacement trees outside of the Tree Protection Area for future canopy;
-diameter threshold of 50 cm or greater is above attainable size for many species and does not reflect what other municipalities are doing in their by-laws (for example Toronto 12" or 30 cm);
-consensus across community that size threshold needs to be lower, acknowledging there may be budget implications and a business case may need to be put forward;
-need to define "hazardous" tree and evidence for removal;
-trees can be made hazardous by unnatural causes for example building an addition;
-photo should be part of application to remove tree;
-checklist of Arborist best practices to justify tree removal;
-education program may be less expensive than enforcing the by-law. For example, planting a replacement tree before the original tree is removed (shadow planting);
-cemeteries and golf courses should not be exempt from the by-law, and there should be a policy to require City of London golf courses to follow the spirit of the by-law;
-fines must always be higher than the total cost of fees that would have been required, or it will not work;
-provisions for on-line payments should be considered;
-tree protection required by section 9.3 of the by-law should match other specific policies;
-no need for section 7.3 of the by-law because no fee is taken until application determined;
-inconsistency in Part 2-Definitions with regards to "meter" and "m";
-leave snags on trees for housing of wildlife (for example birds of prey);
b) that delegation status BE REQUESTED by the Chair or designate of the Trees and Forests Advisory Committee at the Planning and Environment Committee on September 9, 2019.