Tree Pilot project begins in Ward 1

Councillors agree to Pilot Project
After three hours of debate Wednesday, City councillors agreed to try a
pilot project in Ward 1, where a draft tree bylaw is to be developed by
City staff over the next few months. It will then be discussed at a public
meeting in the ward before it is considered for implementation.

Ward 1 Councillor, Carmen Corbasson, offered her community as a 
guinea pig for the experiment, saying there is overwhelming support for
protecting mature trees there, many of which are more than a century old.

Something must be done
Despite a staff recommendation that rejected the idea of controlling trees
on private lands as too expensive, cumbersome and a possible infringement
on property rights, Corbasson argued Mississauga must do something to
prevent the wholesale slaughter of trees occurring on many lots prior to
development or redevelopment.

The councillor acknowledged that many of the rhetorical questions asked in
the staff report are legitimate. One of those questions was, "will the public
beneftis exceed the limitations it imposes on private property owners?" 

"Unless we get our feet wet, we are never going to get the answers to these 
questions," Corbasson said.  She said any bylaw will evolve over time based 
on experience and will need to be amended.

Clear-cutting devastating
Ian Scott, chair of the Credit Reserve Association, a heavily forested area
south of the Queen Elizabeth Way between the Credit River and Hurontario
St., said the results of clear-cutting of trees on private property in his
community, "have been devastating. We need a made-in-Mississauga
solution," Scott said. "Where a permit is required, this type of clear-cutting 
will be much less likely to happen," he argued.

Precious Resource
Phillip van Wassenaer has watched the steady decline of the urban forest in
Mississauga over years. "It's time to realize that what we have left is a
precious resource," the urban forester said.

Like many deputants and councillors, he cited the ineffectiveness of current 
City policies which rely on the site plan process to identify trees for preservation. 
In many cases, landowners simply remove all trees before they apply for a site
plan.

Zero Tree Protection
In a one-hour tour of the city Sunday, van Wassenaer snapped a series of
photographs of construction sites which he presented to council.  They showed
construction immediately beside mature trees which could not possibly survive
the root damage; construction without adequate hoarding around trees and mesh
fences that were supposed to  delineate tree preservation zones which were lying
on the ground or ignored. In one case, excavation had taken place right beside a
tree. What was left of its roots were totally exposed and the tree was a safety
hazard, the arborist said. "This is absolutely zero tree protection."

Ward 6 Councillor, David Culham challenged van Wassenaer to explain why a 
tree bylaw would help in such cases. "As an instrument, it's extremely blunt,
inadequate and expensive," Culham said.

The deputant replied that if offenders realized that they could be subject to fines
up to $10,000. for destroying trees without a permit, "they might hesitate." 

No-penalties
Ward 9 Councillor, Pat Saito, whose neighbourhoods have lost innumerable trees
to new development including a recent stand in Lisgar, complained that current
controls simply don't work. Developers cut down trees, including those on city
property near their sites, knowing that site plan approval will be given in any 
event eventually. "There are no penalties in our so-called tree preservation
measures," Saito said.

It was decided that once staff develop draft proposals, council will determine
which other neighborhoods or wrds may be added to the pilot project. If the
procedures are deemed effective, a City wide bylaw could eventually be adopted.