Richmond Hill Tree Removal Permit: Rules, Fees & Arborist Reports

Richmond Hill protects trees 15 cm and larger

Richmond Hill updated its tree bylaws in April 2025, replacing the previous Tree Preservation By-law 41-07 with By-law #19-25 (Municipal Code Chapter 1015). The most significant change was lowering the protected diameter threshold from 20 cm to 15 cm, which brought a much larger number of private trees under the permit system.

The Updated Tree Preservation Bylaw

Richmond Hill’s current bylaw protects all trees on private property with a trunk diameter of 15 cm or more at breast height (1.4 metres above ground). This applies to all species on residential, commercial, and industrial properties.

What Requires a Permit

• Removing any protected tree (15 cm+ diameter)
• Injuring a protected tree (defined as removing more than 20% of live tissue within 12 months), including root cutting and severe pruning
• Activities within the critical root zone during construction

Key Changes from the Previous Bylaw

The 2025 update made these changes:

• The protected-tree threshold dropped from 20 cm to 15 cm, pulling younger and smaller trees into the bylaw’s reach
• Cash-in-lieu rates for replanting increased to $945 per tree
• Administrative penalties (AMPS) now apply to violations

Exemptions

By-law 19-25 uses an Exemption Permit for:

• Dead trees, supported by photographs
• Dying trees, supported by an Arborist Report
• Hazardous trees, supported by a TRAQ tree risk assessment

Emergency work also requires a permit after the work, with an Arborist Report and pre-removal photographs. These categories are not permit-free.

Oak Ridges Moraine Rules

Parts of Richmond Hill, particularly in the north, fall within the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan area, O. Reg. 140/02. The plan regulates development and site alteration. It defines site alteration as activities such as grading, excavation and the placement of fill that change the landform and natural vegetation of a site.

• Inside a key natural heritage feature, such as a wetland or significant woodland, or inside its minimum vegetation protection zone, development and site alteration are prohibited. Section 22(2) allows only listed uses, such as forest, fish and wildlife management and low-intensity recreation.
• The vegetation protection zone is 30 m for wetlands, fish habitat, significant valleylands, sand barrens, savannahs and tallgrass prairies. For a significant woodland it is 30 m from the drip line of the outermost trees.
• An application for development or site alteration within the feature’s minimum area of influence, 120 m for these features, but outside the feature and its zone, needs a natural heritage evaluation (s.22(3)). The evaluation must show no adverse effects on the feature, and it decides whether the 30 m zone is enough or sets a larger one (s.23(1)).
• A new agricultural building at least 30 m from the feature needs no evaluation (s.22(4)).

In land that was in a Settlement Area on April 22, 2002, an official plan or zoning provision based on environmental studies prevails over the table’s zone (s.21(3)).

How to Apply for a Tree Removal Permit

Step 1: Check if Your Tree is Protected

Measure the trunk diameter at 1.4 metres above ground. If it is 15 cm or more, you need a permit. Remember that the threshold dropped from 20 cm in the previous bylaw, so a tree between 15 and 20 cm that was unregulated before April 2025 now needs a permit.

Step 2: Hire an ISA Certified Arborist

Richmond Hill requires an Arborist Report with each standard Tree Permit application. The report must be prepared by a Certified Arborist and include:

• Tree species, diameter, and height
• Health and structural condition
• Reason for the proposed removal
• Assessment of any alternatives to removal
• Site plan showing tree locations relative to property boundaries and structures

Step 3: Address Replacement Conditions

The city sets replacement conditions from the removed tree’s DBH. When replacement trees are required, the city collects a security deposit under the Tariff of Fees By-law. If the permit allows cash-in-lieu instead, the 2026 rate is $945 per required replacement tree.

Step 4: Submit Your Application

File your application with the City of Richmond Hill’s Forestry section. Include:

• Completed tree removal permit application form
• Arborist report
• Site plan or property survey
• The replacement information requested by the city
• Photos of the tree

Step 5: City Review

The city’s forestry staff review the application. Apply through the city’s online portal. The city will approve, deny, or approve with specific conditions.

Fees and Costs

The non-refundable application fee is $314 + HST for the first tree and $109 + HST for each additional tree. The cash-in-lieu rate is $945 per required replacement tree under the 2026 Tariff of Fees By-law.

When replacement trees are required, the security deposit equals the required replacement count multiplied by the current replacement fee. The city releases the security after it confirms the permit’s replacement conditions have been fulfilled.

Penalties

Richmond Hill’s AMPS schedule lists tree-bylaw penalties from $50 to $750. Injuring a tree without a permit and obstructing an officer each carry a $750 administrative penalty. Violating an Exemption Permit is $500, failing to comply with an order is $350, and continuing offences are $200. The bylaw also allows prosecution with a court fine up to $100,000 per offence. Continuing or multiple offences can exceed that total, and a special fine tied to economic gain may exceed $100,000.

Development Applications

Active Plan of Subdivision or Site Plan applications do not require a separate Tree Permit. Their arborist-prepared Tree Inventory and Preservation Plans are reviewed by the Park and Natural Heritage Planning section through the planning process. Those plans include:

• A tree inventory and preservation plan
• A grading plan showing how tree root zones will be protected
• Tree protection fencing details and installation timelines
• A replanting plan for any trees that cannot be preserved

Construction outside an active Plan of Subdivision or Site Plan application still needs the applicable permit before a protected tree is injured or removed.

Working with The Arborist Group

We handle permit applications across Richmond Hill under By-law 19-25.