Gibsons’ six-month-old tree preservation bylaw has received plenty of attention from the community and now council wants to get more direct input as it considers amending the rules.
At an April 6 committee-of-the-whole meeting, councillors voted unanimously to strike a select committee to review the bylaw, while keeping it in place for the time being.
Coun. Stafford Lumley made the motion following a planned review of the bylaw, which was adopted by council last September, outlining concerns raised by the public.
Some were confused over when a permit is needed, some felt the bylaw was rushed through without enough time for public consultation and that communication about the bylaw was “missed by many residents,” according to the April 6 staff report.
“As with a lot of our challenging or contentious projects, we often get a concern about lack of communication,” said infrastructure director Dave Newman, who presented the review, adding direct mail and social media were used to inform people.
The report said some residents who have purchased properties with a view “feel that they should be able to remove trees to maintain that view.” Confusion was also raised about re-topping previously topped trees, and how to resolve tree overcrowding on private land.
To address some of those concerns, staff suggested holding another public input session. Staff also recommended publishing a simplified version of the bylaw on the town’s website.
During the meeting, Newman referenced the public’s interest in trees removed from Gibsons Elementary School grounds, deemed to be of “high hazard.” He said more tree cutting was expected this summer.
Some amendments to the bylaw were also suggested in the report, including adding to the definition of Protected Tree and clarifying rules around re-topping.
Another suggestion was to remove the option for planting replacement trees on a subject lot if a person violates the bylaw. Instead, the violator would have to pay for twice the number of replacement trees required.
During discussion, Lumley referenced a petition with more than 300 signatures before suggesting the town opt for a committee to address concerns.
“Clearly there’s some concern from the community that maybe they didn’t get input,” he said. “Just having a public engagement, it’s really, really tough especially during COVID and on Zoom.”
To emphasize confusion around the rules, Lumley asked about a resident who he said was fined $8,000 for cutting three trees. “To my understanding … they actually thought they were doing the right thing at the time.”
Mayor Bill Beamish noted the issue was subject to appeal, but that the matter shouldn’t be discussed at a public meeting.
In a follow-up email, Newman told Coast Reporter the town has not issued $8,000 fines.
“Without discussing the particulars of any tickets issued, fines can be issued for unauthorized tree cutting as well as the cost of replacement trees and security to ensure the survival of any trees replanted on private property. The security is returned after 24 months if the trees have survived. It may be a total of all of these that a councillor was referring to,” he said.
At the meeting, Lumley also spoke to the tree cutting at the school and suggested the arborist report could be posted online to quell community concerns.
Coun. David Croal said he was in “full agreement” with Lumley’s suggestion to strike a committee.
“Originally this bylaw was supposed to be drafted by committee and it fell on staff to do,” he said.
“If we have to have two or three committee meetings to get it sorted, I’m all for it. Obviously a lot of people are unhappy.”
Coun. Aleria Ladwig also supported direct input from the public via committee.
Since the bylaw came into effect, $5,100 in fines have been levied for the unauthorized removal of seven protected trees and damage of two protected trees in the municipality.
The tally includes a $900 fine issued for damage done to protected trees associated with the Gospel Rock development on Block 7.
As of April 6, 24 tree cutting permits have been issued and 94 trees have been removed under permit (excluding Block 7 tree removals), 80 of which were deemed hazardous, and the majority were on public lands.
A further $8,480 was collected as cash in lieu for future tree planting on public land, according to the report.
