Unfortunately for City Councillors, only they make a tree bylaw. And that task
will be fraught with difficulties, judging by the comments made by more than
two dozen residents at a well-attended public meeting Monday night at City Hall.

Different ideas
While an overwhelming number of residents supported the principle of a tree
bylaw, they have very different ideas about how the legislation should be applied.

A strongly held minority viewpoint was also expressed that politicians are venturing
dangerously close to infringing on personal property rights if they try to control
tree cutting on any private land.

A number of deputants told councillors they must do someting to prevent the
oft-repeated scene in Mississauga over past decades, where mature stands of
trees have been decimated by developers before they apply to city hall for
redevelopement.

Limited restrictions on tree cutting
"There are gaping holes," in the current system, which only applies restrictions
on tree cutting after an application has been made, noted Doug Watson, past-
president of the Credit Reserve Association. "Any savvy developer will just wipe
out all the trees by clear cutting a lot," he said.

The City must walk a fine line to protect trees and protect people's rights to deal
appropriately with their property, added Watson. The resident's association, 
representing an area of mature trees, recommended protection for old growth trees,
a provision to allow on or two trees to be removed annually without a permit, and a
mechanism to stop cutting immediately when clear-cutting begins.

Municipal staff have reviewed existing tree bylaws in Toronto and Vancouver and
will use them, along with public input, to bring forward a report this fall.

Moratorium
Ed Troscianczuk of Sweetwater Cres. asked councillors for a moratorium on tree-
cutting until they decide on a bylaw. "A few weeks ago a two-acre site on The 
Collegeway was cleared of trees and why?" he asked. "Because the owner heard
Mississauga was considering a tree bylaw."

Don Hancock , one of four owners of the Woodland Nursery, a four-acre heavily 
treed parcel on Camilla Rd. south of The Queensway, favoured the bylaw in 
principle. However, he argued for an exemption for heritage farm properties such as
his. "We are the stewards of that and others are not," he said. "We know how to 
nurture trees so that you get larger growth and protect the carpet floor for trilliums
and other flora."

Councillor Cliff Gyles noted, "everyone is saying they support a bylaw, but not
my tree. They're saying leave me and my tree alone, he noted.

Old Trees different
Mississauga may have planted over 100,000 trees in the last decade, as the meeting
was told in an introduction to the discussion, but that's not the same as saving
old trees noted Lakeview resident Bev Hook. "It's lovely that you're planting
seedlings all over the place, but I'd rather see my children climbing old trees."

Donald Barber of Friends of Cawthra Bush called the tree, "God's greatest gift to
the human race." He urged politicians to approve a tree-cutting bylaw on private
lands. "We must teach the future generation by our actions, not just our words."

Petition presented
Laurie Kallis of Port Credit, who tried unsuccessfully last summer to prevent the 
cutting of a 110-year old Norway Maple, called on council to "stop the unbridled
demolition" of urban forests. She presented a petition of support for a tree
cutting bylaw signed by 1400 residents.