Toronto’s September 2026 tree bylaw amendments are now in force. If you’re filing a tree permit application in the city today, three changes from By-law 402-2026 apply to your project that didn’t exist a week ago.
Large Trees Now Get a Formal Review Category
A private tree with a stem measuring more than 61 centimetres DBH (diameter at breast height, measured 1.4 metres above grade) can now be designated a Distinctive Tree under Municipal Code §813-11 and §658-1. A tree at exactly 61.0 cm doesn’t qualify.
The designation isn’t automatic. Toronto’s Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry, decides whether a tree is healthy and meets the definition. But under new §813-16.L, the Executive Director must now consider whether any named tree in a permit application qualifies as a Distinctive Tree before deciding on that application, whether it’s a standard Chapter 813 removal or injury permit or a Chapter 658 ravine application under §658-5.1.
If Urban Forestry determines your tree qualifies, the Executive Director has discretion to refuse a permit to injure or remove it, and staff may direct you to meet with Urban Forestry to discuss design changes that protect the tree instead. Get a certified arborist to measure and document the tree’s diameter and condition before you file, so the application already answers the Distinctive Tree question rather than stalling on it partway through review.
Trees Planted Under a Permit Condition Are Protected the Moment They Go In
If your project includes a replanting requirement tied to a variance, consent, site plan agreement, Order to Comply, or permit condition, those trees are now protected from the day they’re planted. No size threshold or grace period applies. Before this amendment, protection under the general rule only applied once a tree reached 30 cm DBH, which could take years.
The ordinary 30 cm threshold for other private trees hasn’t changed. This protection applies specifically to trees planted to satisfy an enforcement or development condition. If you’re closing out a project with a replanting obligation, treat those saplings as protected under Chapter 813 the day they’re in the ground, and keep any required protection fencing up until Urban Forestry formally releases the condition.
The Maintenance Grant Pilot Has Closed to New Applications
Alongside the bylaw changes, the City launched a pilot to help owners with the cost of maintaining large healthy trees above the 61 cm threshold. It is now called the Mature Private Tree Maintenance Grant (formerly the Distinctive Tree Maintenance Incentive Pilot). It pays up to $1,500 toward pruning by a qualified arborist, for a healthy tree whose trunk sits entirely on the applicant’s private property. The City closed applications early because of high demand and will contact applicants with funding decisions. A survey on future rounds stays open until November 6. The pilot runs through 2026 and 2027, with an outcomes report expected at the Infrastructure and Environment Committee in 2027.
The Tree Protection Zone Calculation Is Unchanged
The tree protection zone calculation hasn’t changed. If a Distinctive Tree survives the application, the same DBH-based TPZ table still sets the minimum protected radius around it, and ravine-area trees still get double the distance or the drip line, whichever is greater. Our Toronto tree permit guide covers the rest of the application: Chapter 813 and Chapter 658 requirements, fees, and what the arborist report needs to include.
Arborist Reports for Large Tree Applications
A construction arborist report that includes a Distinctive Tree assessment gives Urban Forestry what it needs to make the §813-16.L determination without sending the application back for more information.
To talk through a specific tree or project, contact us with the trunk diameter, property location, and scope of planned work.