By Louise Brown
A proposal that would make cutting down trees on private property a public decision has the support of at least three Ottawa city councillors.
Trees must be protected, says Somerset Ward Coun. Elisabeth Arnold.
This is a view shared by Bay Ward Coun. Alex Cullen and Capital Ward Coun. Clive Doucet.
“My house is a heritage house. If I want to change my house, I need a permit … Why don’t people need a permit to cut down a perfectly healthy tree?” says Eric Wildhaber.
Wildhaber is a Glebe lawyer whose crusade for a new bylaw started when one of his neighbours cut down a tree close to Wildhaber’s yard without his consent.
Currently in Ottawa, anyone who owns a tree standing on private property is allowed to cut it down, even if neighbours who enjoy the shade of its branches don’t agree.
At a meeting of the Ottawa forests advisory committee last month, Wildhaber presented his ideas about a new bylaw that could force the owner of a tree to go through an extensive process before chopping it down.
He recommends owners get an opinion from a forester and put up a sign announcing the cutting date to neighbours.
That way, they can file a complaint to the city and possibly save the tree.
Somerset Ward Coun. Elisabeth Arnold says there is a need for tree protection measures since previous education initiatives to save trees have failed.
Bay Ward Coun. Alex Cullen says that public consultations are necessary to find out what kind of criteria should be used for deciding which trees should stay or go.
Some citizens completely disagree with the entire notion, saying a new bylaw protecting trees amounts to unwelcome government intervention.
Elva Ford, a resident of Renfrew Avenue in the Glebe, cut down an old tree in her backyard that she saw as a nuisance, spanning three adjacent properties.
Though she made sure to get permission from the other homeowners, she says that municipal government should stay out of homeowners’ actions.
“It’s my property, my tree and it’s my decision as to what I want to do with it,” says Ford.
But private rights are never absolute. Neil Sargent, a law professor at Carleton University, says that no one has an unrestricted right to do anything with private property.
If there was a worry for public safety, such as a tree that is in danger of falling or is infected with disease, then government would be allowed to remove it.
But when a private owner removes a tree for aesthetic or personal reasons, disagreements arise.
Art Matthewson, a member of the Centretown tree committee, encourages neighbours to communicate with each other rather than rely on government intervention.
“Regulation is seldomly the best course of action,” he says.
Wildhaber agrees that, in a perfect world, community members would talk with each other about the fate of a neighbourhood tree, but in reality this isn’t always possible.
The tree that stretched over his own backyard was chopped down without his knowledge, which is why he stresses the importance of a new tree bylaw.
“We’re a pretty close-knit community, but this was done behind everybody’s back… That scenario can repeat itself in any number of places.”
With files from Pamela Eadie