Councillors chop away at tree bylaw, debate cost to developers

Some members of Fort Erie council were stumped by a recommended update to the town’s tree bylaw on Monday night’s council-in-committee agenda.

A handful of changes were pitched by staff and described in a presentation by Jessica Abrahamse, senior environmental planner for the town.

One revision to the bylaw, which was approved and set into place early last year to address concerns related to clearcutting, had to do with the costs developers are faced with when making way for homes.

Through a decision made on Monday, developers who are in the midst of large projects will be capped at $200,000 cash-in-lieu for every tree they knock down and don’t replace within a developable 5.5-hectare site.

For each additional hectare, it will cost another $40,000, a reduction in an amount of $50,000 recommended by staff.

This generated plenty of discussion by local politicians, some cautioning that extra costs will be borne by home buyers, despite Abrahamse telling councillors that the current formula of $1,500 per tree could be dramatically higher for some developers than with a cap applied.

She said feedback from local builders is a factor in applying a cap.

“Town staff have taken consideration from the development community and lowered the ratios as a result,” she said.

Ward 2 Councillor Nick Dubanow said the purpose of the tree bylaw in general is to prevent unwanted clear-cutting, adding that he hopes the high cost of cutting down trees doesn’t hurt the people on the buying end.

“Any time it gets more expensive to develop, there is a cost that’s passed on to the purchaser,” he said.

Ward 1 Councillor George McDermott agreed, saying the cost will “trickle down” to the people.

Staff pitched that a maximum cash-in-lieu cost of $250,000 cost be applied, but that was trimmed by council.

In 2023, council asked staff to consider updates to the bylaw, following a string of reported incidents of tree removals on properties that concerned residents and politicians.

Before that, the rules were fairly restricted in terms of what the town governed, covering only areas between a half hectare up to one hectare. Provisions were also put in place last year that permits are needed to cut down trees.

Several charges have been filed against individuals and corporations for cutting down trees without a permit, reads the report on Monday’s agenda, which also states that 149 permits have been issued.

Another concern related to clear-cutting discussed Monday is tampering with stumps, which complicates the town calculating how that tree should be factored into the cost.

“Some people were cutting down trees and removing the stumps, and then it became very difficult to determine the size of the tree that was removed,” said Abrahamse.

Dubanow described this as “destroying evidence,” and that the town monitoring this is important, in his opinion.

Mayor Wayne Redekop said imposing costs on developers is vital in an effort to “protect our natural heritage,” also pointing out that parcels with designated significant woodlots are protected by a regional bylaw.

He asked Abrahamse if she expects to see a total price tag to a developer reaching $200,000 or above.

She said that would be a “pretty rare circumstance.”

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