Title
Adoption of a Tree Protection Bylaw
Recommended Action
Whereas there are many renewed concerns from Township residents about the lack of a Tree Protection Bylaw in the Township of Langley especially due to recent tree-cutting / clear-cutting activity;
Whereas several other municipal jurisdictions in the Lower Mainland have already adopted Tree Protection Bylaws over the last decade including Delta, Richmond, Vancouver, Surrey, Maple Ridge and Abbotsford;
Whereas the City of Richmond BC has very clear and concise Tree Protection Bylaw standards easily available to the public on their City website, and their Tree Protection Bylaw has been in place since 2006;
Whereas the previous Township of Langley Council referred the matter of a Tree Protection Bylaw to the current Township of Langley Council;
Whereas in January 2019, the current Township of Langley Council identified Tree and Canopy Protection in the Township as one of their top 6 priorities for this term;
Whereas staff have requested Township Council to provide more direction on this matter; and
Whereas the recently formed Brookswood-Fernridge Neighbourhood Planning Committees will also need direction and standards relative to their advisory work on these new Neighbourhood Plans;
Therefore be it resolved that the Township of Langley (TOL) Council:
1. Adopt and implement the City of Richmond’s Tree Protection Bylaw 8057 including its updates since 2006, and its easily available and concise website “Bulletin” format for the public;
2. Request TOL staff to:
a) Bring forward such a Township of Langley (TOL) Tree Protection Bylaw for First, Second and Third Reading on May 13, 2019;
b) Hold a Public Hearing on the proposed TOL Tree Protection Bylaw on May 27, 2019; and
c) Bring forward Final Reading of the proposed TOL Tree Protection Bylaw on June 10, 2019;
3. Request TOL staff to undertake an existing tree canopy review in the Township and to bring forward a Tree Canopy Protection Standard for the entire Township in the next 6-12 months, focusing first on the Brookswood-Fernridge area so that this standard is known by all the Brookwood-Fernridge Neighbour Planning Committees and TOL staff prior to the completion of their advisory work and Neighbourhood Plan recommendations to Council; and
4. Appoint an 8-12 month (maximum) Tree Protection Council Advisory Committee with broad-based representation from the entire Township in July 2020 to review both the 2019 TOL Tree Protection Bylaw and the subsequent 2019-2020 TOL Tree Canopy Protection Standard in order to ensure that the adopted 2019 TOL Tree Protection Bylaw is effective and that the Township’s Sustainability Charter will be met for the current and future generations who live in all communities of the Township of Langley.