Whitchurch-Stouffville Tree Removal Permit: Rules, Fees & Arborist Reports

Whitchurch-Stouffville’s bylaw covers five settlement areas

Whitchurch-Stouffville’s Private Tree Preservation and Protection By-law 2023-060-RE, in force since June 2023, works differently from most GTA tree bylaws in two ways. First, it only applies within the town’s designated Secondary Plan settlement areas: Stouffville, Gormley, Vandorf-Preston Lake, Ballantrae-Musselman Lake, and the Hamlet of Bloomington. A property outside those boundaries isn’t subject to the bylaw’s Mature Tree rules at all. Second, removal is authorized through a Site Plan, Plan of Subdivision, or Consent application under the Planning Act, with no standalone tree permit.

A Mature Tree, the bylaw’s protected category, is defined by a diameter at standard height (1.3 m above grade, functionally the same as DBH). The sizes are 10 cm (Private Tree below the Mature Tree class, identified for protection on Landscape Plans with a site plan, subdivision or consent application in a Secondary Plan settlement area); 30 cm (Mature Tree in a Secondary Plan settlement area, regulated through a site plan, subdivision or consent application). Heritage Trees designated under the Ontario Heritage Act sit above the Mature Tree category entirely: they cannot be removed or relocated under any circumstances, regardless of development approval.

The Private Tree Preservation and Protection By-law

By-law 2023-060-RE governs Mature Trees on private property within the town’s Secondary Plan settlement areas. Outside those areas, no municipal tree permit applies.

What Requires Approval

• Removing or injuring a Mature Tree within a Secondary Plan settlement area, authorized through the relevant Planning Act application
• Any construction activity within a Mature Tree’s Tree Protection Zone

What Doesn’t Apply

• Properties outside the five settlement areas
• Trees below the Mature Tree size within a settlement area

Heritage Trees under Part IV or Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act cannot be removed or relocated under any permit type or development approval.

Tree Protection Zones

By-law 2023-060-RE sets its own hoarding rule for trees kept during a Planning Act application. Hoarding is 1.2 metres high around the whole tree where possible, on a 2x4 spruce frame filled with high visibility fencing and staked into the ground. It surrounds the tree at a radius of at least 2.5 metres for the first 30 cm DSH, plus 0.5 metres for every further 10 cm: 3.0 metres at 40 cm and 3.5 metres at 50 cm. Lateral branches outside the zone are kept clear of construction or pruned by an ISA Certified Arborist, and the Town Arborist inspects the protection before construction starts.

How Removal Gets Authorized

Step 1: Confirm Settlement Area and Mature Tree Status

Check whether the property sits within Stouffville, Gormley, Vandorf-Preston Lake, Ballantrae-Musselman Lake, or Bloomington, and whether the tree reaches the Mature Tree size (10 cm (Private Tree below the Mature Tree class, identified for protection on Landscape Plans with a site plan, subdivision or consent application in a Secondary Plan settlement area); 30 cm (Mature Tree in a Secondary Plan settlement area, regulated through a site plan, subdivision or consent application)). If either answer is no, the bylaw’s Mature Tree provisions don’t apply.

Step 2: Confirm the Tree Isn’t Heritage-Designated

Heritage designation under the Ontario Heritage Act overrides everything else. We check this before any removal plan moves forward.

Step 3: Prepare the Arborist Report for the Planning Act Application

Because authorization runs through the Planning Act, the arborist report is prepared as part of the broader Site Plan, Subdivision, or Consent submission rather than a standalone tree permit filing, and goes through the Town’s Development Approvals process.

Step 4: Town Review

Review follows the timeline of the underlying Planning Act application.

Replacement Requirements

The bylaw uses a two-tier ratio based on diameter: a Mature Tree up to 49 cm DSH removed requires 3 replacement trees, and 50 cm DSH or larger requires 5. The Director may instead authorize 1 replacement tree per 10 cm DSH removed, at their discretion. Minimum nursery stock is 50mm caliper deciduous or 200cm height coniferous. Where on-site planting isn’t feasible, cash in lieu is available. It is the appraised value of the tree, set by the Town.

Working with The Arborist Group

The first thing we check on any Whitchurch-Stouffville project is whether the property falls within one of the five settlement areas the bylaw covers. Where it does apply, we confirm Mature Tree and Heritage status, size the hoarding to the radius the bylaw sets, and prepare the arborist report as part of whichever Planning Act application the removal is tied to.