Becoming a homeowner can feel like you’re now the ruler of one small part of the world. So, it’s jarring to learn you need a tree survey and permit to remove a single tree when embarking on property improvements. It can seem even stranger when Langley and the Fraser Valley’s agricultural greatness once required the removal of trees, yet today’s homeowner often needs the city’s approval to remove just one tree.
For the Love of Trees
Trees have been mythologized for centuries by poets, and through iconic stories like Shel Silverstein’s Giving Tree. We love their vibrance in the fall and their cooling shade in the summer. We romanticize trees, but they’re far more than just features in our landscape; they’re living history and the world’s lungs.
Today, population growth and urban sprawl have escalated tree removal, and city councils are cracking down. Cities know now that trees are urgent for weathering the climate crises and protecting quality of life in every way.
Depending on the location, size, and species of the trees involved, removing your tree may not even be legal. It may seem frustrating today, but it would take years to undo the mistake of removing the wrong tree – and you could be on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars in consequences.
It’s More Than a Tree
Trees aren’t just about curb appeal and shade. They’re critical for flood mitigation, energy conservation, and greenhouse gas control. Cutting one down isn’t remedied by planting another one, because it can take decades to reach the same size — all the while, absorbing less carbon and being less effective in controlling rainwater runoff.
Protected species have always been untouchable, and each region has their list. But today, trees are untouchable for far more reasons, like soil erosion and property drainage, which each tree affects. You may think “yeah, but drainage is my problem,” but it’s not.
When one property fails in a flood, or the soil seriously erodes, it impacts every property around them.
Development booms have spurred councils into action. Some, like Surrey, have doubled their fines. Most regions protect smaller trees now, with trunk diameters of 20 centimetres. The City of New Westminster took longer to protect smaller trees than much of the Lower Mainland, finally doing so in 2016, when studies showed New West lost a staggering 15 percent of their tree canopy in just over a decade, since 2004.
Why Do I Need a Survey?
Your property may have been surveyed in the past, but a current survey is likely required. It may seem an unnecessary expense but halting unnecessary tree removal is crucial today. And today’s world is a very different world, with new weather challenges and shifting flood tables. In the rain-sodden Lower Mainland, every property — and every tree — is a part of the floodwater solution.
Most municipalities such as Langley require a tree survey for development permit applications, as well as a corresponding arborist’s report.We can provide you with a tree survey chock-full of details needed for decisions on your tree removal. It’ll include tree species, location, size, as well as other property-specific details relevant to your case.
If you think cutting a tree down shouldn’t be a big deal, that you can just apologize later, that’ll cost you too — and likely far more than doing it the right way. Depending on where you are, rules vary. In Surrey, removing a single tree without permission can cost $20,000 — doubled from just $10,000 not that long ago.
A survey is money well-spent, though. Learning more about your property may solve more problems than you think. If you’d like to find out about the costs and particulars involved in tree surveys in the Fraser Valley, Langley Township, the City of Langley or the City of Surrey, we’re here to help.
Related: “A West Vancouver couple has been ordered to pay almost $50,000 and permanently stay off their Sentinel Hill neighbours’ property after a judge found they trespassed to top cedar trees and improve their view…” North Shore News (August 2021)