Several very old and healthy trees, including one of the country's largest sugar maples, were felled because Mississauga has no bylaw to protect them, residents say.
The city is drafting a tree bylaw and, following public meetings, the legislation could be in place by the end of the year. Such a bylaw will protect other trees from a similar fate, but the damage has already been done to the maples, said Laurie Kallis, who tried to stop the trees from being cut last week.

Eleven trees felled

"I thought there was a bylaw to protect trees in Mississauga," she said in an interview yesterday.  "Instead, city officials said the owner was within his legal rights to cut the trees." Eleven trees out of the 80 on the half-hectare lot on Mississauga Road North, just north of Lake Shore Boulevard in Port Credit, were chopped down.  Ms. Kallis and her husband Ed Troscianczuk, who lease a home on the property, said their landlord told them that only a few unhealthy spruce trees at the rear of the property were to be cut. However, the company hired by the owner also cut a large red oak and three sugar maples.

3.9 Metres in circumference

Carmen Corbassen, the councillor for the area, said the city ordered the owner to trim certain trees.
One maple was 3.9 metres in circumference and about 30 metres high.  Ms. Kallis said the largest maple tree in Canada has a circumference of 4.2 metres, and that the largest in North America is 4.3 metres. The other two maples were about 3.1 metres in circumference and more than 24 metres high. The large maple dwarfed the three-storey house on the property, Ms. Kallis said.

A regular occurence

The couple kept the crew from cutting the trees for several hours last Wednesday, but had to give up the battle when police and the city pointed out that the owner was within his legal rights.  Ms. Kallis said city officials told her developers cut down trees all the time in Mississauga. Ms.  Corbassen agrees with the statement, but she added that it is not just developers.  "Not a week goes by without a call about people cutting down trees, be it for swimming pools or other reasons," she said.

Trees health questioned

There is some dispute as to the health of the oak and maples and whether they needed to be cut down. Ms. Corbassen said the owner's consultant told her the oak and maples were not very healthy.  "Every tree has a certain life span.  They may look good on the outside but inside could be declining," she said, adding that a strong windstorm could knock them down and pose a risk. Mr. Troscianczuk disagrees, although he acknowledges that he is not an arborist.  "I looked at the trees after they were cut and they looked healthy enough inside.  There was no rotting or anything else," he said.

More trees marked

He and his wife said another row of trees is marked with the same symbol as the ones that were cut and they are afraid the owner plans to chop those down too.  But lawyer Roy Fisher said last night that there are no plans to cut more trees.  He said the owners want to build a townhouse complex on the property.  Ms. Kallis and other Port Credit residents are accepting that assurance for now, and are turning their attention to saving the 86-year-old house on the property that would have to be demolished to make way for development.

Heritage designation sought

The house was built by George Gordon, a justice of the peace for the Port Credit area, who worked out of his home.  One of his daughters lived there until her death last year.  Subsequently, it was sold by the heirs.  Ms. Corbassen said the city is looking at designating it as a heritage home.  The residents support the move but want more.  Port Credit resident Alex Hafner is campaigning to have the house moved to a corner of the property and preserved.  Ms. Kallis plans to hold an open house today for residents.  Ms. Corbassen said the city would buy the home once it was designated as a heritage home only if it could be assured it would reap revenue from such a designation.