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.
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 measuring height and the ground it is measured from. They differ most on how to combine the stems of a tree with 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.
New Westminster's bylaw prints it in its own DBH definition: √(12² + 14² + 17²) = 25 cm.
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 | Confirm with the City of Burnaby |
| 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 | Confirm with the City of Langley |
| Township of Langley | Largest stem plus 60% of each other stem | 32.6 cm | Confirm with the Township of Langley |
| 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 | Confirm with the District of North Vancouver |
| Pitt Meadows | Total of every stem | 43 cm | Confirm with the City of Pitt Meadows |
| Port Coquitlam | Largest stem plus 60% of each other stem | 32.6 cm | Confirm with the City of Port Coquitlam |
| 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 | Confirm with the City of Richmond |
| 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.
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.
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.
Largest stem plus 60% of each other stem
100% of the largest trunk plus 60% of each additional trunk, under s.4(1).
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 the size the bylaw sets.
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.
Source: primary source for Bowen Island.
Sum of the three largest stems
The sum of the three largest stems.
Source: primary source for Burnaby.
No method named
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 at the protected size or more.
Source: primary source for New Westminster.
No method named
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.
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.
Total of every stem
The cumulative total of each stem's DBH, under section 3.1(s).
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.
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.
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.
Source: primary source for Richmond.
Sum of the three largest stems
The sum of the three largest stems.
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.
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. Send us photos of the stems and we will help establish the measurement needed for your application.
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.
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.
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