Tree Removal in Orillia

• certified either by the Ontario Training and Adjustment Board or the International Society of Arboriculture; or
• a member of the Ontario Professional Foresters Association entitled to use the designation “Registered Professional Forester (R.P.F.)” under the Professional Foresters Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c.18.

A permit is required when a person, within the geographic limits of the City, wants to destroy, injure, or cause or permit to be destroyed or injured, any tree with a DBH greater than 5 centimetres, on properties great than 0.5 hectare (1.23 acres). 

Application and Fees

Tree Removal Application

The cost for a Tree Removal Permit is $250. Online applications are subject to a 2.4% convenience fee ($6.00). 

For those wishing to pay via cash, cheque or debit, complete the application and staff will contact you regarding payment.   

The cost was developed for cost recovery for administration and enforcement of the program. The City's administrative costs include such things as staff time, utilities, overhead, records management. 

Application details shall include the following information and material:

a)  The municipal address of the lot where each of the trees to be destroyed or injured are located;

b)  The name and contact information, including telephone number and e-mail address, of the owner of the lot;

c)  The name and contact information, including telephone number and e-mail address, of the authorized agent of the owner of the lot, if applicable;

d)  The written consent of the owner of the lot where each of the trees to be injured or destroyed are located if the person who is applying for the permit is not the owner of the lot;

e)  Where the trunk of a tree to be destroyed or injured straddles the boundary of one or more properties, the written consent of the other property owner or owners to the application;

f)  An Arborist Report containing the following information:

i.  A diagram and itemized list (or plan of survey) showing:

1)    The location, species, DBH and overall tree risk rating of each tree to be destroyed or injured;

2)    A justification for the destruction or injury of each tree; and

3)    The location, species and DBH for each tree to be retained.

ii.  Confirmation that endangered, threatened or special concern tree species as defined in the Endangered Species Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.E.15, or the Species at Risk Act, S.C. 2002, c. 29 are not present; and

iii.          A Tree Appraisal and Evaluation Form for all trees to be destroyed or injured;

g)  Consent by the owner of the lot for the General Manager, or any person acting under the General Manager’s instructions, to enter and inspect the lot and trees to determine whether or not a permit should be issued; and

h)  Payment of any fees required in accordance with the City’s Municipal Code Chapter 450 - User Fees - Development Services and Engineering.

Section 370.3.1. does not apply to:

a)  the destruction or injuring of trees located on any lot that is 0.5 hectare or less in area;

b)  maintenance pruning of trees;

c)   the destruction or injuring of trees located within a building or structure, rooftop garden, solarium, or an interior courtyard;

d)  the destruction or injuring of trees located within an actively managed, cultivated nursery, tree farm, or orchard, and harvested for the purposes for which the trees were planted;

e)  the destruction or injuring of trees that are subject of an Order issued by a Property Standards Officer pursuant to Section 15.2(2) of the Building Code Act;

f)  activities or matters undertaken by the provincial or federal government or their agents;

g)  activities or matters undertaken by the Orillia Power Corporation or Orillia Power Generation Corporation, or their agents;

h)  Ash trees that have become infected with the Emerald Ash Borer;

i)  a tree that is destroyed or injured as part of emergency work;

j)  a dead, terminally diseased, or imminently hazardous tree when certified in writing as such by an Arborist as defined in the Chapter, provided such documentation has been submitted along with supporting photographs to the General Manager.

Chapter 370 does not apply to:

a)    activities undertaken by the City or local board acting on behalf of the City;

b)    activities or matters undertaken under a licence issued under the Crown Forest Sustainability Act, 1994;

c)     the destruction or injuring of trees by a person licensed under the Surveyors Act to engage in the practice of cadastral surveying or his or her agent while making a survey;

d)    the destruction or injuring of trees imposed after December 31, 2002 as a condition to the approval of a site plan, a plan of subdivision or a consent under section 41, 51 or 53, respectively, of the Planning Act or as a requirement of a site plan agreement or subdivision agreement entered into under those sections;

e)    the destruction or injuring of trees imposed after December 31, 2002 as a condition to a development permit authorized by regulation made under section 70.2 of the Planning Act or as a requirement of an agreement entered into under the regulation;

f)      the destruction or injuring of trees by a transmitter or distributor, as defined in section 2 of the Electricity Act for the purpose of constructing and maintaining a transmission system or a distribution system, as those terms are defined in that section;

g)    the destruction or injuring of trees undertaken on land described in a licence for a pit or quarry or a permit for a wayside pit or wayside quarry issued under the Aggregate Resources Act or

h)    the destruction or injuring of trees undertaken on land in order to lawfully establish and operate or enlarge any pit or quarry on land that has not been designated under the Aggregate Resources Act or a predecessor of the Act, and, on which a pit or quarry is a permitted land use under a by- law passed under Section 34 of the Planning Act.

1. Any person wanting to remove any tree on a City road allowance having a DBH greater than 5 centimetres for a development that is subject to a Development Agreement, shall provide a proposal prepared or certified by an Arborist which includes the information described in Section 5.1(2)(f).
2. Costs associated with the removal of trees from City road allowances for a development that is subject to a Development Agreement shall be the responsibility of the developer.
3. Should a tree(s), having a DBH greater than 5 centimetres be required to be removed, the developer shall pay $350 per replacement tree, subject to a maximum of $35,000, to the Tree Planting Program.  

The Ontario Tree Atlas:  https://www.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/tree-atlas

Forests Ontario website:  https://forestsontario.ca/en/program/50-million-tree-program

Tree Canada website:  https://treecanada.ca/resources/ 

     For Tree Canada resources, see also: https://treecanada.ca/resources/canadian-urban-forest-compendium/

The Ontario Urban Forest Council website: https://www.oufc.org/ 

ISA Ontario (Ontario Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture) website: https://isaontario.com/faqs/