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Arborist Group

Arborist Reports for Tree Permits.
Written to local bylaws.

Get a QuoteCheck Permit Rules
City of VancouverCity of SurreyCity of BurnabyCity of RichmondCity of DeltaCity of Maple RidgeDistrict of North VancouverCity of New WestminsterDistrict of West VancouverCity of White Rock

Our practice

4,600+ arborist reports completed in Ontario since 2013. In Metro Vancouver, we check each file against the municipality's bylaw before we quote.

We confirm availability for your address before we quote. We do not offer emergency service.

10
municipalities with full bylaw guides
21
municipalities in our bylaw table

How a BC report works

  1. Send the address and the trees

    Use the form or email us. Tell us the property address, which trees are involved and what the report is for.

  2. We check the bylaw and confirm availability

    We confirm which municipality's rules apply and whether we can take your file.

  3. Site measurements and photos

    We arrange the measurements and photos the report needs and tell you who attends when we confirm availability.

  4. Your report

    Sergiy Litvinov, ISA Certified Arborist, prepares and signs the report.

Tree rules for your municipality

Pick the municipality where the tree stands.

What are you planning?

For a tree on private property with no current development application.

Anmore

Remove a private tree

Permit by trunk size

20 cm or wider. Cutting a branch or trunk has a separate trigger.

Other protection tests

  • Lot canopy coverage rules also apply. Hedges are excluded.
How to measure a tree with several stems

100% of the largest trunk plus 60% of each additional trunk, under s.4(1).

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

Subdivision plans need a tree and natural vegetation management plan. Root damage within the canopy edge can count as cutting a tree.

Before work starts

Include a tree and natural vegetation management plan with the subdivision application.

Ask us about your property
Fees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

Belcarra

Remove a private tree

No general private-tree bylaw

No private-tree bylaw

Check the site before work

  • Development and site-specific requirements depend on the property and proposed work. Send us the address and plans for help.

Next step

There is no tree removal permit for private trees here.

Build near trees

Site-specific requirements

Private trees are outside the Village tree bylaw.

Before work starts

Send us the property address and proposed work. We will help identify the development and site-specific requirements.

Ask us about your property
Fees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

Bowen Island

Remove a private tree

No general private-tree bylaw

No private-tree removal bylaw

Check the site before work

  • Development Permit Areas and separate site alteration rules can affect the work.

Next step

There is no tree removal permit for private trees here.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

Development permit areas can place conditions on tree clearing. Site alteration also follows a separate bylaw.

Before work starts

Ask Bowen Island Municipality whether a development permit or site alteration approval applies.

Ask us about your property
Fees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

Burnaby

Remove a private tree

Permit by site or species

The size is listed by case in the size table in the city's card on the Metro Vancouver tree bylaws page.

Measure the trunk diameter at 1.3 m. Diameter is the width across the trunk, not the distance around it.

Other protection tests

  • Trees protected by a legal covenant, near streams or in a cemetery district are protected at any size. Landscaping-plan, replacement and retained trees are also protected at any size.
How to measure a tree with several stems

The sum of the three largest stems.

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

A current development application changes the threshold. Retained trees need protection fencing.

Before work starts

Send us the property address and application details. We will help identify the applicable tree protection and fencing requirements.

Ask us about your property
Permit guideFees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

Coquitlam

Remove a private tree

Permit by trunk size

20 cm or wider, or 5 m tall on a steep slope.

Measure the trunk diameter at 1.4 m. Diameter is the width across the trunk, not the distance around it.

Other protection tests

  • Steep slopes and streamside areas have extra requirements. Replacement and permit-required trees are protected.
How to measure a tree with several stems

The bylaw does not specify a combined-stem calculation. Send us photos of the stems and we will help establish the measurement needed for your application.

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

Trees near development need a protection area based on the canopy edge and trunk size.

Before work starts

Send us the tree locations and proposed work. We will help identify the protection area before work starts.

Ask us about your property
Fees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

Delta

Remove a private tree

Permit by trunk size

20 cm or wider

Measure the trunk diameter at 1.4 m above the base. Diameter is the width across the trunk, not the distance around it.

Other protection tests

  • A tree shorter than 1.4 m is covered at 30.5 cm or more across its base.
  • Sunshine Hills has additional neighbourhood rules. Send us the address and we will help check which rules apply.
How to measure a tree with several stems

The combined diameter of the three largest stems. A tree shorter than 1.4 m is measured at its base instead, against a 30.5 cm trigger.

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

Retained trees need protection barriers. Branch and root cuts need approval.

Before work starts

Send us the address and work plans. We will help check the protection barrier and any Sunshine Hills requirements.

Ask us about your property
Permit guideFees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

City of Langley

Remove a private tree

Permit by trunk size

The sizes are 20 cm (lot subject to a development application); 75 cm (significant trees anywhere); any size (tree in an environmentally sensitive area).

Other protection tests

  • Trees in Environmentally Sensitive Areas are protected at any size. Replacement trees and trees protected by an approval condition or legal covenant are also protected.
How to measure a tree with several stems

Two stems that share a root system count as the sum of both. Three or more count as the sum of the three largest.

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

A lot subject to a development application has its own tree size. Retained trees need a protection zone.

Before work starts

Send us the address and development application details. We will help identify the tree protection requirements.

Ask us about your property
Fees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

Township of Langley

Remove a private tree

Permit by trunk size

The protected size is 20 cm (not land under a tree farm, nursery or Christmas tree licence, not Agricultural Land Reserve land, not land subject of a development application; not a replacement tree planted under the Subdivision and Development Servicing Bylaw; no evidence of nesting or use by raptors, osprey, pileated woodpecker, heron colony or hummingbird).

Measure the trunk diameter at 1.4 m. Diameter is the width across the trunk, not the distance around it.

Other protection tests

  • Certain replacement trees and trees with specified nesting evidence are protected at any size. Tree work tied to a development application uses a separate bylaw.
How to measure a tree with several stems

100% of the largest trunk plus 60% of each additional trunk.

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

Development applications use a separate servicing bylaw. Other work needs a tree protection barrier where a tree's CRZ is within 4 m of the works.

Before work starts

Send us the address and proposed work. We will help identify which bylaw and tree protection requirements apply.

Ask us about your property
Fees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

Lions Bay

Remove a private tree

No general private-tree bylaw

No private-tree bylaw

Check the site before work

  • Site-specific requirements depend on the property and proposed work. Send us the address and plans for help.

Next step

There is no tree removal permit for private trees here.

Build near trees

Site-specific requirements

The municipal tree bylaw covers Village land only.

Before work starts

Send us the address and work plans. We will help check the construction and land alteration requirements for the property.

Ask us about your property
Fees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

Maple Ridge

Remove a private tree

Permit by trunk size

20 cm or wider

Measure the trunk diameter at 1.40 m. Diameter is the width across the trunk, not the distance around it.

Other protection tests

  • Trees in Riparian or Conservation Areas are protected at any size. Trees protected by a legal covenant or permit, replacement trees and specified nesting trees are also protected.
How to measure a tree with several stems

The sum of the three largest stems, drawn in the bylaw's Figure 2.0.

The bylaw also defines protection by a stump wider than 25 cm at grade.

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

Retained protected trees need barriers when excavation, demolition, construction or servicing comes near them.

Before work starts

Send us the retained-tree locations and work plans. We will help check the protection areas required for the plan.

Ask us about your property
Permit guideFees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

New Westminster

Remove a private tree

Permit by trunk size

20 cm or wider, with a separate two-trunk protection test.

Other protection tests

  • The two largest trunks can also trigger protection when their combined diameter reaches the protected size. Retained and replacement trees, nesting trees and hedges at least 5 m tall have additional protection.
How to measure a tree with several stems

The square root of the sum of the squared stem diameters, rounded to the nearest cm. The bylaw prints its own example: √(12² + 14² + 17²) = 25 cm. The protected tree definition, s.2.1(jj), adds a second test: a combined DBH of the two largest trunks at the protected size or more.

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

Work within 4 m of a protected tree's dripline needs a barrier and permit or a separate root-zone work authorization.

Before work starts

Send us the address and work plans. We will help check the work authorization and barrier requirements before work starts.

Ask us about your property
Permit guideFees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

City of North Vancouver

Remove a private tree

Permit by site or species

Tree permit rules depend on zoning

Other protection tests

  • Most listed low-density zones are exempt from the tree bylaw. On other lots, the bylaw applies above this size: 20 cm (tree not wholly on land zoned GO, RS-1, RS-2, RS-4B, RT-1 or RT-2, or in a CD zone based on them).
How to measure a tree with several stems

The bylaw sets where to measure but does not specify a combined-stem calculation. Send us photos of the stems and we will help establish the measurement needed for your application.

Next step

Send us your property address. We will help check the zoning and explain which tree permit rules apply.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

The property zoning determines whether the tree bylaw applies. Construction barrier standards need a separate check.

Before work starts

Send us your property address and work plans. We will help check the zoning exemption and tree protection requirements.

Ask us about your property
Fees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

District of North Vancouver

Remove a private tree

Permit by site or species

The large-diameter size is 75 cm (large-diameter tree that is not otherwise a protected tree). Protected categories have no size floor.

Measure the trunk diameter at 1.3 m on the uphill side. Diameter is the width across the trunk, not the distance around it.

Other protection tests

  • Streamside, steep-slope, wetland, waterfront and specified development-permit areas have additional protection. Listed species, replacement, covenant, heritage, wildlife and old-growth trees are protected at any size.
How to measure a tree with several stems

100% of the largest stem plus 60% of each additional stem, to a maximum of 6 stems. Each stem measurement is rounded up to the nearest cm first.

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

Retained protected trees need root-zone barriers inspected before work starts.

Before work starts

Send us the tree details and work plans for help with the protected tree categories. Arrange the required District barrier inspection before work starts.

Ask us about your property
Permit guideFees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

Pitt Meadows

Remove a private tree

Permit by trunk size

The protected size is 20 cm (outside the Agricultural Land Reserve, Private Managed Forest Land and Forest Act tenure land; not a Replacement Tree, Canopy Tree, permit-required landscape tree or registered Significant Tree; a multi-stemmed tree counts when its combined DBH is greater than 20 cm; subject to the municipal, utility, agricultural, pruning and confirmed hazard or dead-tree exemptions in section 6.1).

Other protection tests

  • Replacement trees, canopy trees, trees required by a permit landscape plan and registered significant trees are protected below the general size threshold.
How to measure a tree with several stems

The cumulative total of each stem's DBH, under section 3.1(s).

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

Development and non-development applications use different tracks. Retained trees need protection zones.

Before work starts

Send us the address and work plans. We will help identify the applicable bylaw provisions and tree protection requirements.

Ask us about your property
Fees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

Port Coquitlam

Remove a private tree

Permit by trunk size

The sizes are 15 cm (tree under 5 m tall that is not a Schedule A rare native species, a replacement tree or a tree planted as a development permit condition); any size (tree 5 m or taller).

Other protection tests

  • Hedges are excluded. Significant species, wildlife, heritage and specimen trees have additional protection.
How to measure a tree with several stems

100% of the largest stem plus 60% of each additional stem.

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Site-specific requirements

Excavation, demolition, construction and fill can trigger tree barrier requirements. The barrier requirements depend on the proposed work.

Before work starts

Send us the address and work plans. We will help check the tree protection barrier requirements before work starts.

Ask us about your property
Fees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

Port Moody

Remove a private tree

Permit by site or species

30 cm or wider. Six named species and protected areas use a lower threshold.

Other protection tests

  • The lower threshold applies to Arbutus, Cascara, Pacific dogwood, Pacific yew, Shore pine and Western white pine. It also applies in riparian or environmentally sensitive areas.
  • Landmark and Legacy trees, trees protected by a legal covenant or approval condition, replacement trees and active-nest trees also have protection.
How to measure a tree with several stems

The cumulative total of the three largest stems, each measured directly as a diameter.

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

On a lot under an active development application, a lower size is protected. Retained trees need a protection zone.

Before work starts

Send us the address and application details. We will help check whether the Development Approval provisions apply and identify the protection zone requirements.

Ask us about your property
Fees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

Richmond

Remove a private tree

Permit by trunk size

The protected size is 20 cm (tree that could reach 4.5 m in height, outside an environmentally sensitive area in Schedule E); any size (land identified as an environmentally sensitive area in Schedule E).

Measure the trunk diameter at 1.4 m. Diameter is the width across the trunk, not the distance around it.

Other protection tests

  • Schedule E Environmentally Sensitive Areas protect woody perennials at any size.
How to measure a tree with several stems

100% of the largest trunk plus 60% of each additional trunk.

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

Retained trees need protection fencing before demolition, rezoning, development or building permits issue.

Before work starts

Send us the retained-tree locations and work plans. We will help check the fence plan requirements before the permit stage.

Ask us about your property
Permit guideFees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

Surrey

Remove a private tree

Permit by trunk size

30 cm or wider

Measure the trunk diameter at 1.4 m. Diameter is the width across the trunk, not the distance around it.

Other protection tests

  • Replacement, riparian, specimen-quality, listed significant and specified nesting trees have extra protection. Arbutus, Garry Oak, Coast Redwood, Dawn Redwood, Giant Redwood and Maidenhair Tree have smaller thresholds: 3 m tall for coniferous trees, or 5 cm caliper for deciduous trees. Caliper is the trunk diameter 15 cm above natural grade.
How to measure a tree with several stems

The sum of the three largest stems.

The bylaw also defines protection by a stump diameter of 35 cm or more.

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

Work near a protected trunk requires a protection barrier.

Before work starts

Send us the retained-tree locations and work plans. We can help with the tree protection requirements before work starts.

Ask us about your property
Permit guideFees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

Vancouver

Remove a private tree

Permit by trunk size

20 cm or wider

Measure the trunk diameter at 1.4 m. Diameter is the width across the trunk, not the distance around it.

Other protection tests

  • The bylaw also covers replacement trees and trees that form part of a hedge below 20 cm.
How to measure a tree with several stems

The combined diameter of the two or three largest stems. The bylaw does not say when two apply and when three apply, so a tree with three or more stems has a range, not one figure.

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

Protect retained trees before demolition, excavation or construction. Nearby trees on neighbouring land also count.

Before work starts

Arrange barrier approval before the demolition, excavation or construction permit.

Ask us about your property
Permit guideFees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

West Vancouver

Remove a private tree

Permit by site or species

The sizes are listed by case in the size table in the city's card on the Metro Vancouver tree bylaws page.

Other protection tests

  • Replacement trees, retained trees and heritage-registry trees are protected at any size. Listed species, special zones, watercourse and foreshore areas have other thresholds. Send us the address and tree details. We will help identify which rules apply.
How to measure a tree with several stems

The bylaw protects a multi-stem tree by its combined diameter (§4.3) but does not say how to combine the stems. Send us photos of the stems and we will help establish the measurement needed for your application.

For a multi-stem tree, the combined-diameter protection threshold applies. Send us photos of the stems and we will help establish the measurement needed for your application.

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

The District identifies a lower threshold on parcels with new residential or commercial buildings or subdivision.

Before work starts

Send us the address and development plans. We will help identify the tree protection requirements for the project.

Ask us about your property
Permit guideFees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

White Rock

Remove a private tree

Permit by trunk size

20 cm or wider.

Other protection tests

  • Arbutus, Garry Oak and Pacific Dogwood are protected at any size. Replacement trees and trees with specified nesting evidence also have protection.
How to measure a tree with several stems

Two trunks count as the cumulative total of both. Three or more count as the cumulative total of the three largest.

Next step

If the tree meets the size line or a protected category, apply for a removal permit before work starts.

Build near trees

Municipal protection rules

Tree removal tied to a demolition or building permit uses a separate permit type. Retained trees need protection barriers.

Before work starts

Send us the address and work plans. We will help identify the construction permit and tree protection requirements.

Ask us about your property
Permit guideFees and how to applyOfficial bylaw (opens in a new tab)

Get an arborist report

Send us the address and what you are planning.

Get a Quote(778) 819-8011

We confirm availability for your address before we quote. We do not offer emergency service.

VancouverBurnabyDeltaAnmoreBelcarraBowen IslandCoquitlamCity of LangleyTownship of LangleyLions BayMaple RidgeNew WestminsterCity of North VancouverDistrict of North VancouverPitt MeadowsPort CoquitlamPort MoodyRichmondSurreyWest VancouverWhite Rock

Smaller municipalities

Map key: remove a private tree

  • Permit by trunk size
  • Permit by site or species
  • No general private-tree bylaw
  • Other jurisdiction

We do not remove trees

We earn nothing more if a tree comes down, so the report says what we find.

Meet the arborists

Pricing

We confirm the price before we start.

We confirm availability for your address before we quote.

Current offer: Tree Removal Reports $250 $200  ·  Construction Reports 20% off your final quote

Free Consultation

$0
  • Free consultation, response within 24 hours
  • Answers to tree and permit questions
  • Advice from an ISA Certified Arborist
Get a Quote

Tree Removal Report

Current offer
$250$200
  • Response within 24 hours
  • Covers up to 3 trees
  • Replanting plan and application support included
  • Written to your municipality's report requirements, confirmed before we quote
Get a Quote

Construction Report

20% off your final quote
$550+

In British Columbia, construction and development reports are by request and confirmed per project.

  • Response within 24 hours
  • Site plan review before we confirm the project
  • What we can take on in BC
  • Written to your municipality's report requirements, confirmed before we quote
Get a Quote

Reports we write in Metro Vancouver

Tree removal reports

The arborist report a private tree permit application asks for, written to your municipality's bylaw.

Current offer: $200

Construction and development reports

Tree reports for building permit and development applications.

By request, confirmed per project

Tree removal report pages by city: Burnaby, Delta, Vancouver.

If the removal ground is a hazardous or high-risk tree, ask us first. Some Metro Vancouver bylaws require a report author who also holds the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification.

Frequently asked questions

When does a Vancouver tree need a removal permit?

Under Protection of Trees By-law No. 9958, a private tree 20 cm or more in diameter at 1.4 m above ground needs a permit (s.2.2). The permit costs $113 for the first tree in a 12-month period and $324 for each additional tree in that period.

Which Metro Vancouver municipalities have no private-tree bylaw?

Belcarra and Lions Bay have tree bylaws that cover municipal land only. Bowen Island has no tree removal bylaw for private property. On Bowen Island, a Development Permit inside an OCP Development Permit Area can still set conditions on tree clearing.

Which cities need a report author with the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification?

Surrey, New Westminster and White Rock require the report author to hold the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification as well as arborist certification. New Westminster also requires a City or intermunicipal business licence. Ask us before you order a report in those cities.

What does a tree removal report cost?

The current offer is $200 for a tree removal report that covers up to three trees. The regular price is $250. Municipal permit fees are separate.

How do you confirm availability?

We confirm availability for your address before we quote. Send the property address, the municipality and a photo of each tree through the form or by email. We reply by email with the report scope and a price, or we tell you that we cannot take the file.

View all questions

Tree bylaw references for Metro Vancouver

All Metro Vancouver tree bylaw resources

Reply Within 24 HoursSubmit below or email vancouver@arboristgroup.com

Get a quote

Tell us about your property. An ISA Certified Arborist will reply with a firm quote.

  • Free consultation, response within 24 hours.
  • We confirm availability for your address before we quote.
  • We do not sell tree removal.
(778) 819-8011vancouver@arboristgroup.com

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