Councillor Jaye Robinson wants to trim profits of developers who illegally cut down trees
Mike Smee | CBC News | Posted: October 12, 2016 8:37 PM | Last Updated: October 12, 2016
Higher fines, stop-work orders proposed to put more teeth in bylaw to protect trees
A developer's decision last summer to cut down a grove of about 30 mature trees has inspired a North York city councillor to launch a campaign for a much stricter bylaw to protect trees.
Coun. Jaye Robinson (Ward 25, Don Valley West) says as a first step she'll ask the parks and environment committee to agree to look into how frequently trees are cut down illegally, what the current fines are, and suggest new ways to bring developers into line.
"Clearly the fines aren't steep enough to stop developers from doing this," she said Wednesday. "Residents are saying, 'What's going on?'"
In July, a developer working on two properties on affluent Bayview Ridge in North York angered some residents when at least 30 mature trees were cut down, including some that were over a century old.
No proper permits?
City staff and Mayor John Tory have both said the developer did not acquire the necessary permits, but the development firm, Format Group, has denied this. On Wednesday afternoon, CBC News sent an email to the firm asking for comment on Robinson's motion and the case that inspired it.
By Wednesday evening, there had not yet been a response.
Robinson's motion calls on staff to look into the number of illegal tree removals city-wide, and how much developers paid in penalties.
Currently, illegally cutting down a tree can cost between $500 and $100,000 per tree. But Robinson says those fines obviously are not working.
Developers "have a line item in their budgets that says 'trees,' and they just check that box," she said. "It's a cost of doing business."
As for the how high she believes the fines should be, she said, "The higher the better."
Her motion also calls on staff to look into other ways of strengthening the tree-removal bylaw, such as withdrawal of building permits, issuing stop-work orders, and increasing the response time of city inspectors once a complaint is registered.
The city launched an investigation into the Bayview Ridge case in July, which is ongoing. Robinson said she'd like to see it complete by the first quarter of 2017.