Richmond Answers the Fence Question Twice
Richmond puts the fence at the dripline and keeps a distance table as the fallback. Bylaw 8057 s.2.1 defines the TREE PROTECTION BARRIER as installed “around the drip line of a tree that is to be retained.” Bulletin TREE-03 item 1 says the same thing in plainer language: the fence goes “at the drip line of all trees to be retained prior to issuance of any permits.” A distance table by trunk diameter exists too, but the bylaw only sends you there when the dripline doesn’t work.
The Fence Goes Up Before Any Permit Issues
TREE-03 item 1 also sets the timing. The fence has to be standing at the drip line before the City issues any demolition, rezoning, development or building permit.
The distance table only enters in s.5.2.4(a), and only “where the dripline is impractical.” There the bylaw points to “the City’s tree protection distance table, as approved and amended by the Director from time to time.”
What the Fallback Table Actually Prints
When the fallback applies, TREE-03’s table runs by trunk diameter across 12 rows. The smallest row needs a minimum protection distance of 1.2 m.
The 90 cm row prints a minimum protection distance of 5.0 m from the trunk (16.4 ft), and the full row reads “90 36 3.0 5.0 16.4 10.90 35.8,” with the total-diameter cells at 10.90 m (35.8 ft). Look up the printed row for your tree. Don’t work it out from the trunk size.
TREE-03 Sets the Fence Construction
Once you know where the fence goes, TREE-03 tells you what to build it from: a 2x4 wood frame with cross-bracing, wrapped in snow-fence material, staked in place, with a sign reading “Tree Protection Zone - Do Not Enter” on two sides. Each sign at least 11 inches by 14 inches. Bylaw 8057 sets the barrier’s minimum height at 1.2 m.
Keep it standing, too. Failure to maintain a tree protection barrier can draw fines of up to $50,000.00 per offence.
The Trees Richmond Protects
Before any of this applies, the tree has to meet Richmond’s own definition. A tree is protected once it meets the bylaw’s size, with DBH measured at 1.4 m. 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). On a multi-stem tree, DBH is 100% of the largest trunk’s diameter plus 60% of each additional trunk’s diameter. The smaller trunks count too.
One rule ignores size. Any woody perennial of any size in a Schedule E Environmentally Sensitive Area or on City land is protected. At the top of the range, a tree of 92 cm caliper counts as a significant tree, and that category gets its own replacement ratio below.
Removal Costs and Replacement If the Tree Can’t Stay
If the plan is removal rather than protection, Richmond’s Consolidated Fees Bylaw 8636 sets the permit fee at $70.00 for one tree per parcel per 12 months, and $84.25 per tree once you’re removing two or more.
Replacement follows Schedule A by category. 1:1 for a one-family, non-development removal (6 cm caliper or 3.5 m stock). 2:1 for a removal tied to rezoning, a development permit, subdivision or works (8 cm caliper or 4 m stock). 3:1 for a significant tree. Take a significant tree down without a permit and the ratio stays 3:1, but the replacement stock steps up to 24 cm caliper or 8 m.
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.
Richmond Is the Only Dripline-First Bylaw We Track
Of the 21 Metro Vancouver municipalities we track, Richmond is the only one whose bylaw names the distance table as a fallback to a dripline rule. For how the fence and distance rules compare across the region, see our protection barrier distance resource. For the rest of Richmond’s permit requirements, the Richmond permit guide covers the fee schedule and replacement ratios in full.
Reports for Richmond Projects
The Arborist Group prepares ISA Certified Arborist reports for tree permit applications in Metro Vancouver. Construction arborist reports are by request. We confirm availability for your address before we quote. If a retained tree sits near your planned work, send us the address.