Tree Removal in Oshawa: Woodland Rules & Arborist Reports

Oshawa’s bylaw covers City trees only

Oshawa has no private tree protection bylaw for individual trees. By-law 78-2008 protects City Trees only, meaning trees with 50 percent or more of their trunk on municipal property. If you’re removing a single tree from a standard residential or commercial lot, no municipal permit applies, regardless of species or size.

Two rules still apply in Oshawa: Durham Region’s Woodland By-law, and the City’s own development-application standards for anyone submitting a site plan or subdivision near existing trees.

The Two Regimes That Still Apply

Durham Region Woodland By-law 30-2020

This regional bylaw covers woodlands of 1 hectare or more anywhere in Durham Region, including Oshawa. Removing or injuring trees within a qualifying woodland requires a permit from the Region, either a Good Forestry Practices Permit for work that follows accepted forestry standards or a Clear Cutting Permit for larger-scale removal. A cluster of mature trees on a large lot can meet this threshold even though it looks, at first glance, like ordinary private property.

Development-Application and Building Permit Requirements

The City’s site plan checklist requires a Landscape Plan and Details and/or Tree Preservation Plan prepared under its Landscaping Design Policies, and the site plan must show existing trees. No standalone tree-removal permit exists.

What Requires Documentation

• Woodland removal meeting Durham Region’s 1 hectare threshold under By-law 30-2020
• Any tree affected by a property going through site plan approval or subdivision
• Trees on City road allowance or parkland, which fall under By-law 78-2008 and require City approval before removal

What Doesn’t

• Removing an individual tree on a standard residential lot, at any diameter, outside a qualifying woodland and outside a development application

Our process for an Oshawa property

Step 1: Confirm Which Regime Applies

A single-family removal in Oshawa needs nothing from us or the City unless one of two situations applies: the tree sits within a Durham Region-qualifying woodland, or the property is going through a development application where the site plan checklist requires a landscape or tree preservation plan.

Step 2: Woodland Documentation, If Applicable

For a qualifying woodland removal, Durham Region’s process governs. We assess the treed area against the Region’s density and area thresholds and prepare the documentation the Region’s forestry reviewers require.

Step 3: Development-Application Tree Inventory, If Applicable

For a site plan or subdivision project, we inventory the trees affected, note which will be protected versus removed, and specify tree protection fencing. This gets folded into the broader submission reviewed by Oshawa’s Development Services Department.

Step 4: City or Region Review

There’s no standalone tree-permit review track for private trees in Oshawa. Woodland documentation is reviewed by Durham Region. Development-application tree inventories are reviewed as part of the site plan process by the City.

Replacement Requirements

Oshawa has no published replacement ratio for individual private trees, because there’s no bylaw requiring one. For development applications, replanting on a site plan is set through the landscape plan under the City’s Landscaping Design Policies as staff review the file.

Working with The Arborist Group

If an Oshawa tree sits on a standard lot outside a development application, there is no permit process at all, and we say so. Where a Durham Region woodland or a site plan submission is in play, we prepare the inventory and protection documentation the Region or the City’s Development Services Department expects.