Councillors in Gibsons have seen more than one tree-related issue come forward in 2019, and work to create a new bylaw will likely to start in earnest in 2020 under a new select committee.
The latest concern about trees is in a letter from the Gibsons Waterfront Defence Association urging council to prevent trees from being removed from Winegarden Park during the construction of the George Hotel and Residences.
The letter, received by the Town Dec. 6 and published on the website coastclarion.ca the following day, says, “We would like to draw your attention to the increasing mortality rate of trees in the town of Gibsons. The past year has seen much stress on the natural asset embodied in our trees. The razing of the trees at Gospel Rock and Eaglecrest has led many citizens to question whether the Town is doing enough to protect our natural assets.”
The letter also references a Nov. 19 council vote on a Glassford Road property owner’s request to remove two trees to allow construction for a workshop, saying it “added to the concern and raised fears about the future of all trees in Gibsons.”
Town staff had recommended council deny the request, but it was allowed in a 3-2 vote with Mayor Bill Beamish among those in favour. He said the current tree removal policy, which he drafted in 2005 while serving as the Town’s chief administrator, was not meant to prevent all tree removal.
“The purpose of the policy is to enable development to occur and where development does occur and trees are to be removed, trees had to be replaced somewhere,” Beamish said. “At that time development was occurring and trees were being cut down and there was no policy for replacement … in the location they were cut down or in another location. The intention was there would not be a net loss of trees in the community.”
Director of infrastructure services Dave Newman said the situation reinforced the need to develop a tree bylaw.
Protecting trees is also referenced in the section on responding to climate change in council’s new strategic plan, which says the Town will “prioritize retention and expansion of green space to secure adequate levels of tree canopy, protect habitat, decelerate the rapid rate of biodiversity loss, and foster community health, connectivity and well-being.”
The idea of a new tree bylaw goes back to late May, when a resident appeared at a council meeting to describe an incident when a 70-foot red cedar on her property was cut down by a neighbour without permission. She called on the Town to fast-track its efforts to get a tree bylaw in place.
At the following meeting, June 4, Beamish proposed a select committee to “investigate the opportunity for a tree bylaw in Gibsons” and make recommendations regarding tree management. “We have a bylaw that covers the trees on public property, but we don’t have a bylaw that covers trees on private land,” Beamish noted.
Coun. Annemarie De Andrade was named to chair the committee, but terms of reference are still to be drafted and the committee members, who will include people from the community, have yet to be chosen.
