British Columbia
The height each municipality measures at, how it adds up a tree with several stems, and one tree worked through all of them.
Updated
A tree bylaw decides whether a tree is protected by its trunk diameter, usually called DBH (diameter at breast height). Each of the 21 municipalities in Metro Vancouver writes its own definition. They differ on the height, on the ground the height is measured from, and most of all on what to do when a tree has more than one stem.
So one tree can have a different legal size in each municipality. Take a tree with stems of 12, 14 and 17 cm. Under the bylaws that cover private trees, its legal diameter runs from 25 cm to 43 cm, with 4 different figures in all. Coquitlam, City of North Vancouver and West Vancouver name no method, so the figure there is one to confirm with the municipality.
The example tree is not ours. New Westminster's bylaw prints it in its own DBH definition: √(12² + 14² + 17²) = 25 cm.
Every rule on this page comes from the municipality's bylaw text. Each card names the source and the date we last checked it. Where a bylaw is silent, the card says to confirm, and we do not fill the gap.
The same stems of 12, 14 and 17 cm, combined by each municipality's own method, then checked against that municipality's diameter trigger.
| Municipality | Multi-stem method | Legal diameter | Against the trigger |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anmore | Largest stem plus 60% of each other stem | 32.6 cm | Meets the 20 cm trigger |
| Belcarra | Each stem on its own | 17 cm, the largest stem alone | No permit rule for private trees |
| Bowen Island | No private tree bylaw | No private tree bylaw | No permit rule for private trees |
| Burnaby | Sum of the three largest stems | 43 cm | Depends on the tree category |
| Coquitlam | No method named | Confirm with the City of Coquitlam | Confirm with the City of Coquitlam |
| Delta | Sum of the three largest stems | 43 cm | Meets the 20 cm trigger |
| City of Langley | Sum of the three largest stems | 43 cm | Depends on the tree category |
| Township of Langley | Largest stem plus 60% of each other stem | 32.6 cm | Meets the 20 cm trigger |
| Lions Bay | Largest stem plus 60% of each other stem | 32.6 cm | No permit rule for private trees |
| Maple Ridge | Sum of the three largest stems | 43 cm | Meets the 20 cm trigger |
| New Westminster | Square root of the sum of the squared stems | 25 cm by the DBH definition, 31 cm if the two-trunk test adds the two largest trunks | Meets the 20 cm trigger |
| City of North Vancouver | No method named | Confirm with the City of North Vancouver | Confirm with the City of North Vancouver |
| District of North Vancouver | Largest stem plus 60% of each other stem, up to 6 stems | 32.6 cm | Depends on the tree category |
| Pitt Meadows | Total of every stem | 43 cm | Meets the 20 cm trigger |
| Port Coquitlam | Largest stem plus 60% of each other stem | 32.6 cm | Meets the 15 cm trigger |
| Port Moody | Sum of the three largest stems | 43 cm | Meets the 30 cm trigger |
| Richmond | Largest stem plus 60% of each other stem | 32.6 cm | Meets the 20 cm trigger |
| Surrey | Sum of the three largest stems | 43 cm | Meets the 30 cm trigger |
| Vancouver | Sum of the two or three largest stems | 31 to 43 cm | Meets the 20 cm trigger |
| West Vancouver | No method named | Confirm with the District of West Vancouver | Confirm with the District of West Vancouver |
| White Rock | Sum of the three largest stems | 43 cm | Meets the 20 cm trigger |
A tree under the diameter trigger can still be protected. Most bylaws also protect trees by category, such as a replacement tree, a tree on a steep slope or near a stream, or a named species. The trigger is where the size test starts, not the whole answer.
On a slope, the starting point matters as much as the height. Belcarra, City of Langley, City of North Vancouver, District of North Vancouver, West Vancouver and White Rock measure up from the uphill side or the highest adjacent grade. Delta, New Westminster and Pitt Meadows measure from the base. Anmore, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Township of Langley, Lions Bay, Maple Ridge, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, Surrey and Vancouver name a height without saying where on a slope to start.
The methods below are grouped by what the bylaw does with the stems. The last groups are the ones where the bylaw gives no answer to work with.
Burnaby, Delta, City of Langley, Maple Ridge, Port Moody, Surrey and White Rock
For the example tree: 43 cm.
Anmore, Township of Langley, Lions Bay, Port Coquitlam and Richmond
For the example tree: 32.6 cm.
District of North Vancouver
For the example tree: 32.6 cm.
Vancouver
For the example tree: 31 to 43 cm.
New Westminster
For the example tree: 25 cm by the DBH definition, 31 cm if the two-trunk test adds the two largest trunks.
Pitt Meadows
For the example tree: 43 cm.
Belcarra
For the example tree: 17 cm, the largest stem alone.
Coquitlam, City of North Vancouver and West Vancouver
No figure for the example tree. Ask each municipality how it combines stems.
Bowen Island
No figure for the example tree.
A tape wrapped around the trunk measures girth, not diameter. The bylaws here define a diameter. Lions Bay is the only one that writes out the conversion from girth. Elsewhere, measure the diameter itself or ask the municipality how it wants a girth converted.
Largest stem plus 60% of each other stem
100% of the largest trunk plus 60% of each additional trunk, under s.4(1).
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for Anmore.
Each stem on its own
The bylaw adds no stems together. A tree counts when at least one stem reaches 20 cm.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for Belcarra.
No private tree bylaw
Bowen Island has no tree removal bylaw for private property, so it sets no measuring rule for a private tree.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for Bowen Island.
Sum of the three largest stems
The sum of the three largest stems.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for Burnaby.
No method named
The bylaw text we checked does not say how to combine stems. Ask the City of Coquitlam before you rely on a multi-stem figure.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for Coquitlam.
Sum of the three largest 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.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for Delta.
Sum of the three largest 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.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for City of Langley.
Largest stem plus 60% of each other stem
100% of the largest trunk plus 60% of each additional trunk.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for Township of Langley.
Largest stem plus 60% of each other stem
100% of the largest trunk plus 60% of each additional trunk. The bylaw also converts a girth measurement: diameter equals circumference ÷ 3.142.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for Lions Bay.
Sum of the three largest stems
The sum of the three largest stems, drawn in the bylaw's Figure 2.0.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for Maple Ridge.
Square root of the sum of the squared 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 of 20 cm or more.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for New Westminster.
No method named
The bylaw sets where to measure but, in the text we checked, not how to combine stems. Ask the City of North Vancouver about a multi-stem tree.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for City of North Vancouver.
Largest stem plus 60% of each other stem, up to 6 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.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for District of North Vancouver.
Total of every stem
The cumulative total of each stem's DBH, under s.3.17.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for Pitt Meadows.
Largest stem plus 60% of each other stem
100% of the largest stem plus 60% of each additional stem.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for Port Coquitlam.
Sum of the three largest stems
The cumulative total of the three largest stems, each measured directly as a diameter. The bylaw text governs where other City material describes a different method.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for Port Moody.
Largest stem plus 60% of each other stem
100% of the largest trunk plus 60% of each additional trunk.
Last checked 2026-09-25. Source: primary source for Richmond.
Sum of the three largest stems
The sum of the three largest stems.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for Surrey.
Sum of the two or three largest 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.
Last checked 2026-09-25. Source: primary source for Vancouver.
No method named
The bylaw protects a multi-stem tree by its combined diameter (§4.3) but does not say how to combine the stems. Ask the District of West Vancouver how it wants them added.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for West Vancouver.
Sum of the three largest stems
Two trunks count as the cumulative total of both. Three or more count as the cumulative total of the three largest.
Last checked 2026-09-01. Source: primary source for White Rock.
A permit application or a development submission records each tree's diameter, and the municipality checks it against its own definition. With the diameter in hand, the barrier distance lookup shows whether that municipality protects the tree and where its bylaw puts the protection barrier. The full permit rules for each municipality are in the Metro Vancouver tree bylaw comparison. Our construction and development arborist reports page covers projects near retained trees, and the contact page takes the site details.
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