The Tree Bylaw, Before You Buy the Lot

What the bylaw catches. A protected tree is any tree, any species, 20 centimetres or more in diameter measured 1.4 metres above natural grade. Multi-stemmed trees count as 100 per cent of the largest trunk plus 60 per cent of each additional one, which pulls maples and cedars over a line they would clear on a single stem. Also protected: trees showing evidence of raptor, heron or hummingbird nesting; any tree planted as a replacement under an earlier subdivision requirement, whatever its size; and every municipal tree. Four things fall outside, trees under 20 centimetres, land in the Agricultural Land Reserve, land that is the subject of a development application, and clearing for roads or services on Township-approved engineering drawings.

The permit is not a formality. Section 5.4 is a closed list, and "I would rather it were gone" is not on it. A permit may issue where a utility engineer certifies interference; where the tree is dead, dying, diseased or in decline beyond recovery, on photographic evidence; where it is in imminent failure; where a building envelope or septic field layout under Zoning Bylaw 2500, or a driveway, will impair its viability; or where the tree is inappropriate for its location by size and species. The allowance that once let an owner take one protected tree per parcel every 24 months was eliminated in 2021, so there is no free tree. Permits expire in 12 months.

The arborist report, and its trigger. The bylaw requires one on the "inappropriate for size, species and location" ground; the Township's June 2025 application guide adds a report for five or more trees, or whenever staff ask, from an ISA certified arborist currently holding TRAQ certification. A bird nesting survey is required for any removal between 15 March and 1 August under the Wildlife Act.

What removal costs. Since the February 2024 amendment, replacement on a single lot is priced rather than planted. On the building envelope, septic or driveway grounds, cash-in-lieu is mandatory and set in Fees and Charges Bylaw 4616: $600 per tree from 20 to 30 centimetres, $1,200 per tree above 30. That second figure is the old two-for-one replacement ratio for larger trees carried across into money, and the Township spends it planting on municipal land, not on your lot. Caps run by construction footprint, $10,000 under 100 square metres, $15,000 from 100 to 150, $50,000 for a new principal building, over and above $100 for the application, $100 per tree for the permit and $75 for inspection.

Subdivision is a different regime. Land under a development application sits outside Bylaw 5478; retention is negotiated inside the application instead. Replacements are set by formula: gross developable acres multiplied by 30, less three credits for each significant tree retained, at least half of the result native conifers. A significant tree is 30 centimetres or more and rated excellent or good. The applicant provides a surveyed tree plan, security acceptable to the Manager of Green Infrastructure Services covering retention, protection and replacement, and an arborist filing monthly reports. No clearing before Council grants final approval.

Retention is a cost, and it is yours. The critical root zone is a radius of six times the trunk diameter, a 60-centimetre fir carries 3.6 metres, a protected circle more than seven metres across. Inside it the bylaw prohibits cutting roots, parking equipment, storing materials, adding or removing soil, trenching and altering water levels, and a barrier at least 1.2 metres high must stand around every retained tree. That geometry, not the lot lines, decides where the driveway runs, where services trench and where the house can go. Fencing, arborist supervision, hand-digging and redesign are real line items, and they land on the buyer.

Unauthorised removal. The fee schedule charges it four ways, each per tree: a $500 permit fee, $2,000 cash-in-lieu, a $2,000 penalty and a $200 site inspection. Section 5.1 separately carries a $500 bylaw notice fine, and on conviction the bylaw allows up to $10,000 with court-ordered compensation to a maximum of $25,000. In June 2024 the Township put penalties at up to $10,500 per tree plus damages, reported cases over $100,000, refused fee waivers and directed full collection, unpaid amounts going onto property taxes. It counted 18 unauthorised removal cases in 2024, 24 in 2025 and eight by 10 March 2026, and says the owner is responsible even where a contractor advised otherwise. A lot cleared shortly before listing deserves a question, asked before the offer rather than after.

How to check a parcel before you write. The Township's Tree Permit Activity map shows active permits by parcel, a red square giving the number of trees approved for removal. Permits and Licensing, at 604-533-6018 or [email protected], will say whether the parcel sits in a development permit area or a tree retention area, whether any trees on it are prior replacement trees, and whether there is an open file on the address. Read the title search for covenants in the Township's favour, including the ten-year no-development covenant behind agricultural removals. Then have an arborist map the critical root zones against your intended envelope during the subject period. The City of Langley is separate, under its own Tree Protection and Management Bylaw, 2025, No. 3321, adopted 19 January 2026: 20 centimetres on development-application lots, 75 otherwise, free homeowner permits, fines from $3,000 per tree. None of the above applies inside the City.

Verified 25 August 2026 against Township of Langley Tree Protection Bylaw 2019 No. 5478 as consolidated (amendments 5712, 5838 and 5987), Fees and Charges Bylaw 2007 No. 4616 Schedule 15, Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw 2008 No. 4703, the Township's Tree Cutting/Removal Application Guide of June 2025, its development tree protection requirements, its news releases of 13 June 2024 and 10 March 2026, and the City of Langley Tree Protection and Management Bylaw 2025 No. 3321. This report describes and informs; it is not legal advice, and a specific parcel deserves specific verification with the Township and a qualified arborist. How many protected trees are standing on the lot you are about to write on, and where would the house have to go?