VANCOUVER, BC – September 10, 2026 – Aesthetic Tree & Hedge Services, a Vancouver arborist company staffed by International Society of Arboriculture certified arborists, has set out the checks a Lower Mainland homeowner should complete before removing a tree, after a Langley Township resident was assessed fines of about $49,000 for felling 11 trees on her own property.
The case, reported by Peace Arch News on July 16, 2026, turned on a familiar problem. A permit had been issued for one hazardous tree. Councillor Kim Richter framed the dispute as a question of how many trees were covered. Township council voted 8 to 1 to have staff meet the homeowner to clarify the situation, with the bylaw’s ceiling of up to $10,500 per tree still on the table. The company’s position is that the outcome is less important than the lesson: in most Lower Mainland municipalities the permit, not the property line, decides which trees may come down.
The rules change at the municipal boundary
Tree protection thresholds differ from one municipality to the next.
In the City of Vancouver, the Protection of Trees By-law requires a permit to remove any tree measuring 20 centimetres or more in diameter at 1.4 metres above the ground, and treats unpermitted removal as an offence carrying per-tree penalties.
Port Moody adopted a new Tree Protection Bylaw in 2026, No. 3531. It protects trees of 30 centimetres diameter and larger, but drops that threshold to 10 centimetres for six listed native species, including arbutus, Pacific dogwood and Pacific yew, for trees in riparian and environmentally sensitive areas, and for any lot under development approval. Penalties run from $500 to $50,000 per offence, with minimums of $1,000 for removing a protected tree, $3,000 for a tree of 50 centimetres or more, and $10,000 for a landmark or legacy tree. The bylaw also defines an arborist, for the purposes of a required report, as a practitioner who is certified by the International Society of Arboriculture and holds its Tree Risk Assessment Qualification.
Four checks before any tree comes down
First, measure the trunk at breast height. Most Lower Mainland bylaws measure diameter at 1.4 metres above grade, but Burnaby and the District of North Vancouver use 1.3 metres, and multi-stem trees are measured differently again, so the measurement should follow the bylaw of the municipality the tree stands in.
Second, read the current bylaw for the municipality the tree stands in. Thresholds, species lists and permit conditions were revised in several municipalities in 2025 and 2026.
Third, count the trees on the permit. A permit is issued for named trees, not for a property. Where several trees are coming down, each one should appear on the application, and the permit should be posted on site while the work is under way.
Fourth, where the municipality asks for an arborist report, have it prepared by a certified arborist before applying. A report documents species, size, condition and risk, and where a tree carries a high or extreme risk rating or an imminent likelihood of failure, it is the report, not the homeowner’s opinion, that supports an urgent application.
What an arborist report does and does not do
An arborist report is a professional assessment of a tree’s condition and risk prepared to a municipality’s terms of reference. It does not itself authorise removal. The municipality issues the permit, and a report that recommends removal may still be refused. Aesthetic Tree & Hedge Services prepares these reports for homeowners, stratas and development applications across Greater Vancouver, and its position is that a report worth paying for is one that will say a tree can stay when that is the honest finding. Details of the service are at https://www.aesthetictree.ca/tree-services/arborist-report-vancouver.
Emergency removals are a narrow exception
Most bylaws, including Port Moody’s, allow a tree in imminent danger of falling to be cut without a permit, subject to after-the-fact review, and Port Moody bars removal of the wood until the City’s parks staff have attended and confirmed the danger. Where the municipality later finds there was no imminent danger, or that the danger arose from something other than natural causes, the penalty provisions apply. Photographs, a dated arborist assessment and prompt notice to the municipality separate an emergency from an offence.
About Aesthetic Tree & Hedge Services
Aesthetic Tree & Hedge Services is a Vancouver tree care company founded in 2004 by Yaniv Biton. Its ISA-certified arborists provide arborist reports, tree removal, pruning, hedge trimming, stump grinding and emergency tree service across Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam and New Westminster. The company is registered with WorkSafeBC. More information is available at https://www.aesthetictree.ca/, and the company’s Google Business Profile is at https://www.google.com/maps?cid=1586840341407031202.
Media Contact
Company Name: Aesthetic Tree
Contact Person: Yaniv Biton
Email: Send Email
Phone: (604)-721-7370
Address:273 Renfrew St.
City: Vancouver
State: British Columbia
Country: Canada
Website: https://www.aesthetictree.ca/