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HALIFAX REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY
BY-LAW NUMBER T-600
BY- LAW RESPECTING TREES ON PUBLIC LANDS
BE IT ENACTED by the Council of the Halifax Regional Municipality, under the
authority of the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter, 2008, c.39 as follows:
Short Title
1
This By-Law shall be known as By-Law Number T -600 and may be cited as the ATree
By-Law.@
Definitions
2
In this By-Law
(a)
AAbutter@ means the owner, lessee, or occupier of any premises or
lot in the Municipality which abuts a street or any other Municipal
property, and includes premises or a lot which has been registered as
a condominium under the Condominium Property Act, including
the condominium corporation which manages the premises or lot;
(b)
ABarrier@ includes any fence, box, frame, guard or other device
placed on, around or near a tree for the purpose of protecting it from
injury or harm;
(c)
ACore Area@ means that portion of the Halifax Regional
Municipality for which the Municipality has assumed responsibility
for maintenance of public streets and is more particularly described
in Agreement No. HRM-01 between the Halifax Regional
Municipality and the Minister of Transportation and Public Works
which became effective on June 24, 1996;
(d)
AContractor@ includes the person in charge of a construction project
and includes the person who applied for any permit related to the
said construction;
(e)
ACouncil@ means the Council of the Halifax Regional
Municipality;
(f)
ADirector@ means the Director of Works and Natural Services or
his/her designate;
(g)
AEngineer@ means the Engineer of the Halifax Regional
Municipality and includes a person acting under the supervision and
direction of the Engineer;
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(h)
ARegion@ means the Halifax Regional Municipality;
(i)
APublic Land@ means any park, street, highway, and any other land
owned, leased, or controlled by the Halifax Regional Municipality;
(j)
APublic tree@ means a tree of which the majority of the trunk is on
public land within the Region;
(k)
AUtility@ includes any corporation that provides water, electric
power, telecommunication services, natural gas or other gas
intended for use as fuel;
(l)
AQualified Persons@ shall be determined by the Director or his/her
designate as those persons qualified to work on public trees;
(m)
"Appeals Committee" means the Appeals Committee established
pursuant to Halifax Regional Municipality By-law A-100, the
Appeals Committee By-law;
Tree Permit
3
(1)
No person shall alter or remove a public tree without first obtaining a permit or
written consent from the Director.
(2)
No person shall, without first obtaining a permit or written consent from the
Director, do or cause or permit any of the following:
(a)
take down, remove, spray, fertilize, disturb, or cut
below ground any public tree;
(b)
deposit, place or store on public land any material
that may impede the free passage of water, air or
other nutrients to the roots of any public tree;
(c)
mark, break, remove bark from or deface any public
tree;
(d)
fasten any sign, bill, notice, wire, rope, nail, or other
thing to or around any public tree;
(e)
cause or permit any gas, liquid or solid which is
harmful to trees to come into contact with a public
tree;
(f)
damage any public tree by fire;
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(g)
change any grade or alter a drainage pattern in a
manner which may interfere with access to water, air
or other nutrients by public trees;
(h)
attach or lean anything to or against a public tree in
conjunction with a construction project;
(i)
remove or otherwise interfere with a barrier designed
to protect a public tree;
(j)
close, cover, obstruct, or otherwise interfere with any
open space within a public tree barrier;
(k)
excavate or disturb the soil within the drip line of any
public tree;
(l)
permit any electric current to come into contact with
a public tree; or
(m)
plant a tree or shrub on public land.
Revocation of Permits
4
(1)
The Director may cancel, revoke or suspend any permit where there is a violation of
this By-Law and any condition of any permit issued under the authority of this By-Law;
Appeal Procedure
(2)
Any person who has been refused a permit or whose permit has been revoked
pursuant to the exercise of any discretion by the Director may appeal to the Appeals Committee;
(3)
All appeals shall be in writing, in the form of a notice, and filed with the Municipal
Clerk within 15 days of the refusal or revocation and shall clearly state the grounds for the appeal;
(4)
The Appeals Committee shall choose to:
(a)
hear the appeal at a time and place as it determines, and may confirm the
refusal or revocation by the Director or;
(b)
direct the immediate issuance or re-issuance of the permit by the Director.
Emergency Pruning or Removal
5
(1)
In the event of an emergency requiring the immediate removal or pruning of a
public tree by qualified persons, the Director may give verbal permission for such action on the
condition that a tree permit is applied for and obtained on the first working day subsequent to the
granting of such permission.
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Waiver of Permit
6
(1)
The Director has the right to disallow the need for a permit for Municipal
interdepartmental use or for contractors working directly for the Municipality, if he/she finds it to
be unnecessary.
Administration
7
(1)
A street opening permit pursuant to the Streets By-law S-300 may serve as both a
street opening permit and a tree permit upon the permission of the Director.
Fee
(2)
The Director may, at his/her discretion, charge a fee for a tree permit in addition to
any other fee charged for a Street Opening Permit.
(3)
Except in the case of public utilities, in addition to the said fee, the applicant shall
deposit with the Municipal Treasurer an amount sufficient to carry out any work necessary to
either replace a public tree that has been or will be removed and/or might be so severely damaged
so as to necessitate removal, or where not so severe, the amount that might be necessary to effect
any corrective action necessary to restore the health of any public tree affected by the said works.
Such deposit shall be retained as a guarantee that the contractor will properly perform and
complete the work for which the permit is granted and protect the public trees during the course of
the work, to the satisfaction of the Director for six months from the date of completion of the
works. If the Director is of the opinion that the public trees have not been properly protected,
he/she may, without notice to the applicant, perform such work as he/she considers necessary to
correct the damage to the public trees and the cost of any such work so done by the Director, shall
be deducted from the amount deposited, and the balance, if any, returned to the applicant at the end
of the six months. If the cost of such works exceeds the amount deposited, the balance may be
recovered by the Halifax Regional Municipality by action.
(4)
In the case of projects under the control of the Engineer, the word Director is to be
replaced by the word Engineer in Sections 7(1), 7(2) and 7(3).
(5)
The Director shall be consulted and have input on any construction projects
involving public trees.
Annual Permits
8
(1)
The Director may grant a tree permit for all works undertaken by a utility or
contractor within a specified period, not shorter than a period of three months and not greater
than a period of one year, for a fee to be determined by the Director, for the carrying out of the
routine business of the utility, subject to such conditions as the Director may determine.
(2)
The Director may cancel, revoke or suspend any permit where there is a violation of
this by-law, any order made pursuant to this by-law and any condition of any permit issued under
the authority of this by-law.
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Protection of Trees
9
(1)
Where work is undertaken within the drip line or root zone of a public tree,
whichever is greater, the person doing the work shall protect the tree with a barrier not less than 1.3
metres high and 2 metres or at a distance of .5 metres for every 45 mm in diameter at the breast
height of the trunk, whichever is greater and where possible. As much protection as possible
should be afforded to the trees so that they are not damaged by other forces.
(2)
A barrier to protect a tree shall not create a sight line barrier to those persons
utilizing any adjacent roadway or private driveway.
(3)
All construction materials or other materials related to the construction shall be
kept outside the said barrier.
(4)
No portion of the barrier shall be affixed to the tree.
(5)
The contractor shall erect any additional protection necessary, in the opinion of the
Director, to ensure the protection of the tree and shall maintain the said barrier throughout the
period of construction.
(6)
All tunnels required for below ground installations shall be located not less than 1
metre below grade if the tree trunk is more than 30 centimetres thick, or at a lesser depth to be
determined by the Director where the trunk thickness is less than 30 centimetres.
(7)
Prolonged exposure of roots shall be minimized and root systems shall be covered
with suitable materials to prevent damage as determined by the Director.
(8)
Any work for which a tree permit is obtained shall be done in a manner that will
minimize the impact on the tree.
Supervision of Utilities and Contractors
10
(1)
Where a utility or a contractor alters a public tree, the Director may assign an
inspector to supervise the work, the cost of which shall be borne by the utility or the contractor.
(2)
The Director may require that a utility or a contractor do such things as are
necessary to ensure the health and safety of public trees affected by any works carried out by the
utility or contractor, even where not required by the utility=s or contractor=s own standards.
(3)
The Director may grant the approval for any work that is required under any other
By-law to proceed even though the work may effect public trees.
Abutting Trees
11
(1)
The owner of a tree which abuts at least 50 percent onto an adjacent public right of
way or public land and in the opinion of the Director poses a hazard or a danger to persons or
public property, shall when so ordered in writing by the Director and within the time designated by
the Director abate such hazard or danger to the satisfaction of the Director.
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(2)
Where the abutter has failed to comply with the subsection (1), the Director may
serve a notice in writing upon the abutter requiring the trimming or removal of the tree. If the
abutter fails to do so within the time frame stipulated on the notice, the Director may cause the
same to be done at the expense of the abutter, and the cost may be recovered by the Municipality.
(3)
Any person failing to act on the aforementioned written order given by the Director
to the Director=s satisfaction within the time frame allotted, is subject to a penalty not exceeding
$2,000.00 per day until the hazard or danger is abated to the Director=s satisfaction.
Liability
12
(1)
Nothing in this By-Law shall affect the Halifax Regional Municipality=s right to
commence an action for damages incurred by the Halifax Regional Municipality as a result of any
of the matters regulated by this By-Law.
Stop Work Order
13
(1)
Where the Director determines that there is a failure to comply with any provision
of this By-Law, the Director may give the applicant, violator, contractor responsible for the work,
or owner of the property on whose behalf the work is being done, an order in writing stopping the
said work and/or directing compliance with such provision and may require the order to be carried
out forthwith or within such reasonable time as the Director requires.
Penalty
14
(1)
Every person who violates or fails to comply with any of the provisions of this
By-Law or the conditions of any permit or order issued under this By-Law is guilty of an offence
and is liable on summary conviction to a penalty of not less than $100.00 and not exceeding
$5,000.00, or in default of payment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months. Each
day that the offence continues constitutes a fresh offence.
(2)
A person, who is alleged to have violated this By-Law and is given notice of the
alleged violation with the amount of the fine completed on the face of the notice, must pay a
penalty in the amount of $100.00 to the Halifax Regional Municipality; provided that, said
payment is made within a period of 14 days following the day on which the alleged violation was
committed, and where the said notice provides for payment in this manner, may make such
payment in full satisfaction, releasing and discharging all penalties and imprisonments incurred by
the person for the violation.
Repeal
15
The following By-laws and Ordinances are hereby repealed except insofar as they repeal
any other By-law or Ordinance:
City of Halifax Ordinance Number 189, Respecting Trees, 1996;
City of Dartmouth By-law D-300, Respecting Dutch Elm Disease, 1989;
Town of Bedford By-law 13, Respecting Tree Committee, 1981.
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Done and Passed by Council this 17th day of November, A.D. 1998.
MAYOR
MUNICIPAL CLERK
I, Vi Carmichael, Municipal Clerk of the Halifax Regional Municipality, hereby certify that the
above-noted by-law was passed at a meeting of the Halifax Regional Council held on November
17, 1998.
Vi Carmichael
Municipal Clerk
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BY-LAW T-600
Notice of Motion:
October 27,1998
First Reading:
November 3, 1998
ANotice of Intent@ Publication:
November 7, 1998
Second Reading:
November 17, 1998
Third Reading:
November 17, 1998
Approval of Minister of Housing & Municipal Affairs:
N/A
Effective Date:
February 13, 1999
______________________________________________________________________________
Amendment # 1 (V-101)
Amending Subsection (1) of Section 14
Notice of Motion:
August 19, 2003
First Reading:
August 26, 2003
ANotice of Public Hearing@ Publication:
September 6, 2003
Second Reading:
September 23, 2003
Approval of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations:
N/A
Effective Date:
September 27, 2003
Amendment # 2 (A-500)
Notice of Motion:
March 20, 2012
First Reading: March 27, 2012
Notice of Second Reading Publication: March 31, 2012
Second Reading: April 17, 2012
Approval of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations: N/A
Effective Date:
April 21, 2012
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