Vaughan Tree Removal Permit: Rules, Fees & Arborist Reports

Vaughan protects private trees 20 cm and larger

Vaughan’s Tree Protection By-law 177-2025 protects trees on both public and private property. Any non-public tree with a Diameter of 20 cm or more, measured at 1.37 metres above ground, is protected. Public trees are protected regardless of size.

Base Diameter is a separate, narrower measurement. It applies only when a tree was already cut down to less than 1.37 metres before the measurement is taken, and it is measured at the ground instead. For a standing tree, Diameter at 1.37 metres is the measurement that determines whether a permit is required, not Base Diameter.

By-law 177-2025 covers public and private trees

The bylaw applies to all non-public trees 20 cm or more in Diameter, and to public trees regardless of size, on private and public property within the city. It prohibits injuring or destroying a protected tree without a permit (s.4.0(2)). The bylaw defines Injure as any act that may harm a tree’s health, including cutting, trimming, damaging and pulling up.

Measuring a Multi-Stem Tree

Where a tree has more than one trunk, its Diameter is not the diameter of any single stem. The bylaw defines it as the square root of the sum of the diameters of the three largest stems squared, each measured at 1.37 metres above ground. A tree with several smaller stems can still exceed 20 cm Diameter under this formula even though no individual stem does.

What Requires a Permit

• Removing a protected tree (any species, 20 cm+ Diameter for non-public trees; public trees of any size), whether it is alive or dead
• Injuring a protected tree, including cutting its roots
• Removing more than 25% of a tree’s live branches outside an annual pruning program. That work falls outside the bylaw’s definition of Pruning.
• Placing materials, vehicles or equipment inside a tree’s Tree Protection Zone without authorization (s.4.0(5))

Exemptions

Section 4.0(4) lists every case where a private tree needs no Tree Permit:

• Emergency Work, meaning work needed to end an immediate threat to life or property
• Pruning to good arboricultural practice: no more than 25% of the live branches, or more as part of an annual pruning program
• Removing dead branches
• Trees on rooftop gardens, in interior courtyards or in solariums
• Tree nursery owners and operators, and trees grown for sale
• Golf course owners and operators, for work that supports nearby vegetation or the playability of the course

The bylaw has no other exemption. Invasive species, such as Norway maple or buckthorn, need a permit like any other tree. These exemptions cover private trees only. Pruning a public tree needs a permit (s.4.0(1)(a)).

Dead, Hazardous, or Emerald Ash Borer-Infected Trees

A dead tree of 20 cm or more needs a permit. Vaughan runs a separate Dead, Hazardous, or Emerald Ash Borer-Infected Tree Permit for these trees. For a dead or hazardous tree a permit is still required, but this permit type does not require an arborist report. The City’s Tree Protection Protocol charges no fee and no replacement planting for it (s.3.3.2).

Section 6.0(2) lets the City issue a Tree Permit where the Director of Forestry has determined, among other things, that the tree is not a Significant Tree (80 cm Diameter or more) and not a Heritage Tree. The section makes no exception for a dead tree.

Woodlots and Woodlands

The bylaw does not apply to trees that York Region’s Forest Conservation By-law regulates, except trees in a Woodlot (s.2.0(2)(a)). Council took woodlot jurisdiction back from the Region when it passed By-law 177-2025.

• A Woodlot is 0.2 to 1 hectare with at least 200 trees of any size, 150 trees over 5 cm, 100 trees over 12 cm or 50 trees over 20 cm Diameter per 0.2 hectare. It stays under the City bylaw, at the same 20 cm threshold as any other private tree.
• A Woodland is 1 hectare or more with at least 1,000 trees of any size, 750 over 5 cm, 500 over 12 cm or 250 over 20 cm per hectare. It falls under York Region’s Forest Conservation By-law 2013-68. Injuring or removing a tree of any size in it needs a Regional permit unless a section 3.1 exemption applies. The only exemption tied to a tree’s condition covers a tree in a hazardous condition (s.3.1(o)). There is no exemption for a dead or diseased tree.

Orchards, Christmas tree plantations and nursery stock do not count as either.

The bylaw has no ravine provision.

How to Apply for a Tree Permit

Step 1: Check if Your Tree is Protected

Measure the tree’s Diameter at 1.37 metres above ground. If it is 20 cm or more, you need a permit. Use Base Diameter instead only if the tree was already cut down to less than 1.37 metres. Also check whether the trees on your property form a woodlot or a woodland.

Step 2: Hire a Qualified Arborist

The City requires an arborist report for every permit type except the Dead, Hazardous, or Emerald Ash Borer-Infected Tree Permit. The bylaw accepts a report from an Arborist (certified by ISA, ASCA or the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, or a Registered Professional Forester) or a Landscape Architect. The report should include:

• Tree species identification
• Trunk diameter at the base and at breast height
• Health and structural assessment
• Reason for the proposed removal
• The share of the site’s canopy to be removed
• Two photographs of each tree
• A replacement planting plan

Step 3: Prepare Your Application

Along with the arborist report, you need to submit:

• A completed tree permit application
• A plan of the lot that shows which trees are to be injured or removed (s.6.0(1)(b))
• Written consent from the neighbouring owner for a boundary tree (s.6.0(1)(e))
• The application fee

Construction or infill applications also need a Tree Management Plan. It maps every tree on the lot and within 6 metres of it, and sets out the protection measures for any trees being retained.

Step 4: Submit and Wait for Review

Apply online through the City’s permitting portal. The City’s published standard is an initial response within 30 business days, not a final permit decision within that period. A permit is valid for six months from the date it is issued.

Fees

Vaughan’s 2026 residential application fee is $270 for the first tree and $153.25 for each additional tree. Construction or infill applications cost $360.50 for the first tree and $178.27 for each additional tree. The fees are non-refundable and HST exempt. The Dead, Hazardous, or Emerald Ash Borer-Infected Tree Permit has no fee.

Penalties

Under Schedule 1 of the bylaw, an officer can issue an administrative penalty instead of laying a charge. Destroying a private tree without a permit costs $900 to $2,700, depending on its diameter. Injuring one costs $750. Unauthorized work in a Tree Protection Zone costs $2,700.

On conviction, the fine is up to $100,000 per offence (s.11.0). A continuing offence adds up to $10,000 for each day. Where the offence brought an economic gain, a special fine can exceed $100,000.

Replanting Requirements

Schedule 2 sets the number of replacement trees by the Diameter of the tree removed. The bylaw counts them in 5 cm caliper trees.

• 20-30 cm diameter: 1 replacement tree
• 31-40 cm diameter: 2 replacement trees
• 41-50 cm diameter: 3 replacement trees
• 51 cm diameter or more: 4 replacement trees

Replacement trees must be planted within one year of the permit’s issuance. Where the site cannot fit them, the City takes cash-in-lieu ($600). The Protocol multiplies the number of replacement trees by the current year’s tree replacement fee (s.4.2), set in Fees By-law 051-2026 Schedule J.

Development and Construction

Builders and developers submit tree preservation plans with their development applications. These plans identify all protected trees on the property, specify which will be retained and which require removal, and detail the protection measures for retained trees during construction.

Tree protection barriers go up before any grading or construction starts, at the minimum distances in section 4.0(5) of the bylaw and Table 2 of the City’s Tree Protection Protocol. The distance grows with trunk diameter, from 1.2 metres for a tree under 10 cm to 6.0 metres at 91 to 100 cm, measured from the outside of the trunk. Trees in naturalized areas get the drip line or a larger distance, whichever is greater. City forestry staff inspect the barriers before site work begins.

Working with The Arborist Group

Our reports include the documentation Vaughan’s forestry staff require, including the photographs, the lot plan and the replacement planting plan.