Big problem with the tree

I thought I am well versed with most of the building code and zoning bylaws before I designed my dream home. However that’s one thing that I seriously did not research. Urban forestry requirement. So today the bad news simply crashed down on me. I have two large tree and several small tree in the rear of the property. One large tree shared between 159 Chisholm and 157 Chisholm is deemed imminently hazardous and can be removed without a permit. The rest of the smaller trees are smaller than 30cm diameter and therefore not protected by Toronto’s Private Tree By-law. However there is one large (Oak?) tree shared between 159 Chisholm and 161 Chisholm that’s around 120 cm in diameter. And this one is causing me a huge headache.

I have just finished talking to a Urban Forestry Consultant Todd Irvine from Bruce Tree Expert today. And it seems that my plan of building a 2 car garage in the back yard is now toast. The large tree at the back has a diameter of 120 cm. And based on Toronto’s Tree Protection Policy, it will require a tree protection zone of of 7.2m from the trunk. With my entire lot being 25′ or 7.62 m wide, this means that I cannot have any construction activity in the back of my yard. I talked to Todd about possibility of building a garage on piers and then use permeable drive way paving. But even that seemed to be not possible according to Todd. So looks like I need some major re-planing. Fortunately I own both 159 Chisholm and 157 Chisholm and so that may just give me some extended flexibility in planning how to deal with the need for a garage.

For the inquisitive mind, here’s the tree protection zone required by the City of Toronto.

Diameter is measured at breast height of tree stem taken at 1.4 metres above the ground.