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| Nature's
air purifiers, an average tree inhales 26 pounds of
carbon dioxide in one year and exhales enough oxygen to keep four people breathing for one year . . . |
| T R E E B Y - L A W S |
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NEW ! ! ! See Mississauga's Pilot tree protection bylaw |
| What doesToronto
have that Mississauga doesn't? |
We
would like to say nothing - but it isn't so. On May 16, 1995, the
City of Toronto Council passed an amendment affecting trees on private
property. The amendment was adopted to preserve significant trees on private
property in the City of Toronto, to ensure a sustainable urban forest in
the City and to educate individuals with respect to tree protection measures
and alternatives to tree removal.
A permit is required to remove, cut down or in any other way injure a tree with a diameter of 12 inches or more on private property anywhere in the City of Toronto. Implementation
of such a bylaw in Mississauga, would give our city officials the strenght
to nip wayward developers' tree clearing actions in the bud. For
years developers have 'accidentally' or intentionally cut down trees prior
to submitting building plans.
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| Why do we need a bylaw? | Examples
of developers taking advantage of Mississauga's lack of a tree protection
by-law documented by the local media date back as far as ten years and
have been seen as recently as this winter.
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| What does the City say? | In
a CBC radio interview on August 6th 1998, Ward One Councillar, Carmen Corbasson,
asserted that city staff hoped to bring a tree bylaw forward for debate
and public input in the fall of 1998.
The meeting was scheduled for January 1999 then postponed until May 10, 1999. At that time residents of Mississauga aired their views regarding a tree by-law to city council and staff. It was a close call but I believe those who supported a tree protection by-law outnumbered those concerned about their loss of personal rights and freedom. City staff presented their report on a tree by-law at a general comittee meeting this fall. They recomended a tree by-law not be adopted. Carmen Corbasson, Councillor for Ward 1, requested the opportunity to run a pilot program in Ward 1, because she believes the residents fully support a tree protection by-law. At that point councillors from other city wards expressed interest in being involved in such a pilot project. The general comittee has requested city staff to prepare a bylaw draft for presentation in the Spring of 2000. At that point it will be decided which wards will run a pilot project. So
call the city - let them know how you feel while we are in the middle of
the process. For those of us who treasure the trees remaining in our city,
an opportunity has come to preserve our trees and ensure they grow into
the next millenium.
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| Existing Tree Protection By-laws | Many
major cities in North America have implemented a tree protection by-law.
Follow these links for specific information on individual cities.
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