When a Committee of Adjustment decision on your project carries a condition assigned to Urban Forestry, the file cannot move on through zoning and building until that condition is cleared. Urban Forestry clears it with a written clearance letter. To get one, you send the planner the Notice of Decision, the Final and Binding letter and whatever the condition asks for, such as an arborist report with a tree protection plan or a street tree payment. The clearance letter is not a tree permit. Any injury or removal of a protected tree still needs its own Urban Forestry permit.
Why Urban Forestry Gets Involved in Building Permits
Toronto’s Chapter 813 private tree bylaw protects any tree on private property with a trunk diameter of 30 cm or more at breast height (1.4 metres above ground). A single mature tree in the construction zone is enough to trigger the requirement.
Urban Forestry reaches a building permit through planning conditions, such as those in a Committee of Adjustment decision. When a minor variance or consent decision carries forestry conditions, those conditions have to be met before the file moves on. A common condition is a $583 street tree payment where the lot has no City tree out front and the project adds a living unit. The tree permit itself runs the other way: Urban Forestry issues it after the building permit is approved.
Properties in ravine or natural feature areas face an additional layer under Chapter 658 (the Ravine and Natural Feature Protection bylaw), where trees of any size are protected. RNFP issues its own clearance for its conditions. If both bylaws apply to your site, you need a clearance from each office.
The Document Urban Forestry Needs
When the condition asks for tree protection, the deliverable is a construction arborist report. This is not the same as a tree removal report. A construction arborist report documents every protected tree on or adjacent to your site, assesses the impact of the proposed construction on each tree’s root zone and canopy, and specifies how each tree will be protected throughout the build.
The report must be prepared by an ISA Certified Arborist. It is submitted to Urban Forestry alongside a tree protection plan, which is a separate formal drawing that maps fence placement, protection zones, staging areas, and access routes to scale. The plan is what contractors and city inspectors reference on site.
If your project also involves removing a protected tree, you will need a removal permit under Chapter 813 in addition to the construction report. The two documents support different permit types. See which arborist report is right for your project.
The Review Sequence
After you submit the report and plan package, Urban Forestry works in this order:
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Request. Send Urban Forestry the Notice of Decision and the Final and Binding letter with your submission. Staff need both before they draft a clearance. In the Etobicoke York district, clearance requests go in through 311.
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Technical review. The reviewer assesses the report against the site plan, tree inventory, and proposed construction. They are looking at whether the protection zones are drawn correctly, whether the fencing specifications are adequate, and whether the arborist’s impact assessment addresses all relevant trees, including trees on adjacent properties whose root zones extend into the work area.
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Conditions or clearance. If the submission is acceptable, Urban Forestry issues a written clearance confirming that the forestry conditions have been met. The file then moves on through zoning and building. If the submission has deficiencies, Urban Forestry sends back a revision request.
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Building permit, then tree permit. Once the clearance is on file and the building permit issues, construction can start. Any injury or removal of a protected tree still waits for its own Urban Forestry permit, which issues after the building permit.
The Revision Loop and How to Avoid It
A reviewer sends back a request for additional information or corrections, the applicant revises and resubmits, and the file goes back into the review queue. Each revision cycle adds another round of review.
Common triggers for revision requests include:
- The tree protection zone radius comes from the trunk diameter, so a field measurement error puts a wrong-sized zone on the plan.
- Adjacent property trees not addressed. If a neighbouring tree’s root zone extends into the excavation area, the report needs to document and address it, even if the tree is not on your property.
- The tree protection plan does not match the building permit drawings. Reviewers compare the two documents side by side. A discrepancy in the building footprint, setback, or driveway location between the arborist plan and the permit drawings will generate a revision request.
- The construction impact assessment is generic. Urban Forestry reviewers notice boilerplate language. The assessment needs to address the specific conditions on your site, including soil type, root zone encroachment distance, and proposed excavation method.
- Missing spec addendums. The plan must include installation details for the fencing, horizontal root protection, and required signage. Submitting a drawing without the spec sheets is a common shortcut that generates a follow-up.
Submit a complete package the first time. That means sharing your full building permit drawings with the arborist before the site visit so the tree protection plan is drawn to the same geometry as the permit drawings, and confirming with the arborist that adjacent property trees have been included in the inventory.
Toronto Publishes No Review Time
Toronto publishes no processing time for construction arborist review.
What the Clearance Letter Says
The clearance letter is not a tree permit, and staff say so on every clearance. It is a written confirmation that the forestry conditions in a Committee of Adjustment decision have been met. The zoning and building review use it to move the file on.
The approved report can carry continuing conditions. Hoarding goes up as the tree protection plan shows, and Urban Forestry staff approve it from photos or a site visit, not from an arborist inspection. The tree permit can also require arborist monitoring visits through different phases of the build. These conditions appear in the approved report and the tree permit, not the clearance letter itself, but they are binding for the duration of construction.
Failure to maintain tree protection as specified in the approved report can result in a stop-work order. Damage to a protected tree during construction carries its own liability under Chapter 813, separate from the building permit process.
Construction Arborist Reports for Toronto Permits
We prepare construction arborist reports for Toronto and GTA building permit applications. Site visits happen within 48 hours and reports are delivered within two business days. Contact us with your site address and permit file number and we can confirm the scope before the visit.