Staff Report to Council - Update on the Urban Forest Management Plan AND Temporary Extension of Tree Protection Bylaw (Bylaw No. 2179)

Staff Report to Council - Update on the Urban Forest Management Plan AND Temporary Extension of Tree Protection Bylaw (Bylaw No. 2179)

DATE: Monday, April 15, 2024
DEPARTMENT: Planning
SUBJECT: Update on the Urban Forest Management Plan AND Temporary Extension of Tree Protection Bylaw (Bylaw No. 2179)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The purpose of this report is to update Council on the first phase of the City’s Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP) and seek Council direction with respect to extending the Interim Tree Protection Bylaw No. 2136 until the UFMP is adopted. Tree Protection Bylaw No. 2136 was written with a repeal date of 300 days from the date of adoption (adopted July 17, 2023, expiring May 12, 2024), as staff was hopeful at that time that the UFMP would be completed by then.

Significant progress has been made on the UFMP since the project commenced last summer. Since this time, the City’s Consultant, Diamond Head Consulting, has completed their background review, data analysis, and Phase 1 public engagement, and are currently preparing the draft UFMP based on this information. Staff expect to launch Phase 2 engagement on the draft plan in May and submit the final plan for Council’s consideration in June. Should the final UFMP recommend a permanent tree protection bylaw, work on that could commence following the approval of the UFMP.

As the timeline for approval of the UFMP and, if recommended, the permanent tree protection bylaw, extends past the expiry date of Bylaw No. 2136, Council may wish to proceed with consideration of Bylaw No. 2179. This new Bylaw will establish an expiry date of December 31, 2024 but otherwise includes all of the same terms as the current temporary tree protection bylaw, Bylaw No. 2136.

COMMENTARY

Council Update: Urban Forest Management Plan (presentation by Diamond Head Consulting)

To date, the following key deliverables of the UFMP have been completed:

1. Background research and review of existing policies, management strategies, and operational procedures;
2. Public engagement and visioning though a workshop, open-house, and online surveys;
3. Inventory mapping, analysis and benchmarking of the City’s urban forest canopy cover; and
4. Production of a State of the Urban Forest Report (attached as Appendix A).

Work on the UFMP completed to date is summarized in the attached reports, “State of the Urban Forest (SOUF)”, and “Phase I Engagement Summary”.

Report contents will be presented by the consultant, Diamond Head Consulting, during the Council meeting.

Next Steps

Following this meeting, staff will work with the consultant to prepare the draft UFMP for the next round of public engagement.

The timeline for remaining UFMP work items are as follows:

Phase #2 engagement (review of the draft UFMP)

• Online public survey – May
• Public presentation and workshop (in-person) – May
• Council UFMP presentation – June

The UFMP will contain a number of recommendations to create new or amended policies and bylaws to implement the UFMP and meet the specified goals, objectives, and targets. As a component of this, the consultant will examine if a permanent tree protection bylaw is warranted. If it is recommended and Council wishes to proceed with establishing such a bylaw, work could commence over the summer and be ready for Council consideration in the fall.

As such, Council may wish to proceed with consideration of Bylaw No. 2179. This Bylaw has been drafted to establish a new repeal date of December 31, 2024 in order to allow time for the UFMP to be completed and for a permanent tree protection bylaw to be considered by Council if it is a recommendation of the UFMP. If a permanent tree protection bylaw is not recommended, Council could repeal Bylaw No. 2179 prior to the new automatic repeal date. Other than the updated repeal date, the other terms of Bylaw No. 2136 are carried forward into Bylaw No. 2179.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

All costs for the Urban Forest Management Plan have been secured through the Province’s Local Government Climate Action Program (“LGCAP”).

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

There are no legal implications for the proposed Bylaw amendment.