Pool Permit Arborist Report

Yes, if the dig, the equipment route or the staging area reaches a protected tree's protection zone. Toronto, Vaughan, Markham and Mississauga all review that impact before you build. If no protected tree is that close, you need no tree permit. In Markham, staff decide per file whether a Tree Assessment and Preservation Plan is needed for a Pool Enclosure application.

A tree counts once its trunk passes your city's limit: 30 cm in Toronto, 20 cm in Vaughan and Markham, 15 cm in Mississauga. Its protection zone is measured from the outside edge of the trunk. In Toronto it is 2.4 m for a 30 to 40 cm tree and grows in steps to 6.0 m for a 91 to 100 cm tree. If the excavation, the equipment route or the staging area crosses the zone, the permit comes under review.

Toronto trees at 30 cm DBH or larger carry a Tree Protection Zone under Chapter 813. If excavation, access, or equipment for the pool touches that zone, you need a permit before work starts, and the city expects an arborist report and tree protection plan with the application. Properties on ravine lots face a second layer of review: City Ravine and Natural Feature Protection staff and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority each assess the project, and the two reviews run in parallel rather than one waiting on the other.

No. Vaughan treats a pool like other construction. If the work injures or removes a private tree 20 cm or more across (measured outside the bark at 1.37 metres above grade), you need a construction tree permit. Work within a Tree Protection Zone also needs the City's authorization.

Markham staff decide per file whether a Pool Enclosure application needs a Tree Assessment and Preservation Plan. A Tree Permit is required whenever the pool touches a regulated tree. When staff ask for a TAPP, we prepare it to the city's current requirements.

Mississauga protects private trees from 15 cm, the same as Oakville and Richmond Hill. The city's tree permit application form lists Pool Permit as one of the related file types applicants can select.

Newmarket's cash-in-lieu schedule sets replacement value at 100 percent of the tree's value specifically for removals tied to a building or pool permit, against $300 per tree for an ordinary removal. Check this before you lock the pool layout, because it can make saving the tree the cheaper choice.

In February 2026, Council sent a proposal to stop counting pools as soft landscaping in rear yards back to staff. Pools still count as soft landscaping today. We track the file and will update clients whose projects could be affected.

The Feasibility Check is a desktop review, done before you commit to a design or a deposit. We look at aerial canopy coverage, estimate tree sizes and species from available imagery and records, and flag which trees are likely to trigger permit review under your city's bylaw. It costs $199 flat and takes 48 hours. If you go ahead with a full arborist report afterward, the Feasibility Check fee is credited against it.

Once you give us the go-ahead, we are on site within 1 business day and the completed report is in your hands within 2 business days of that go-ahead. If we miss the 2-day window, the report is free.

A full tree inventory of every protected tree on or adjacent to the pool excavation footprint, protection zone calculations specific to your municipality, a tree protection plan showing fence placement and access routes, and a construction impact assessment covering the pool shell, equipment pad, and any decking tied to the same permit.

We serve the entire Greater Toronto Area including Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Brampton, Burlington, Hamilton, Pickering, Caledon, King, Durham Region, and York Region. Each report is written to the specific bylaw and application format your city requires.