Maintenance & Removal of Town Trees

If the tree is between the sidewalk and the curb, it is a Town-owned tree. If there isn’t a sidewalk or the tree is located on your front yard, contact the Town’s Public Works Department at 519-284-2340 or by email to have a Town Operator come out to measure property lines and determine if the tree is privately owned or Town owned.

Cutting, trimming, or removing Town-owned trees is not permitted. Homeowners must confirm ownership of a tree on or near their property before doing any work on it.  

We appreciate your help with watering newly planted trees, as well as any tree during long periods of drought. For all other maintenance concerns please contact the Town. 

The Town has a tree pruning program made up of three streams:

1. Quadrant Pruning
   • Pruning of one quadrant of the town street by street each year
2. Routine Maintenance
   • Inspections, sightline maintenance and storm damage clean up
3. Inspection Requests
   • Responses to resident requests for tree pruning

Upon request, a work order is created for a Public Works Operator to determine ownership and health of the tree and create a work plan for the tree.

During a severe weather event Public Works Operators or the Town’s Forestry Contractors will respond to residents and emergency services on a priority basis.

Emergency crews will prioritize fallen trees that are blocking roads, or public trees which have fallen on buildings or hydro lines as soon as crews can be dispatched.

Public Works crews may need to leave fallen materials at a site to attend another call during a storm event; the crew will return at a later time to complete the original request as resources come available.

If you need to report storm damage with respect to publicly owned trees, please call: 1-866-750-8220 (after hours), or 519-284-2340 ext. 221 (during operating hours).

All forestry debris after a weather event may be taken to the following locations:

1. St. Marys Landfill Site (visit the Landfill webpage for hours) at 1221 Water Street South
2. Municipal Operations Centre (dawn to dusk) at 408 James Street South

 The Town removes trees for the following reasons:

• The tree is dead or dying;
• The tree causes a hazard to persons or property and needs to be removed to mitigate risk;
• Emergency work;
• Installation or reconstruction of Town infrastructure; or
• At the discretion of the Director of Public Works. 

Contact the Town’s Public Works Department at 519-284-2340 or by email to report your concern. A work order will be created for the Town’s Operators to complete an inspection to determine a work plan for the tree (this may include maintenance activities, or if it meets the criteria for removal, the tree may be removed).  

Town employees or its contractors are the only parties authorized to complete maintenance or removals of tree on public lands.

For the removal of every Town-owned tree, the Town will plant three additional trees, at a ratio of 1:3. The replacement trees may not be planted in the same location as the removed tree.

When possible, the Town will try to replace boulevard trees, however, sometimes there is not enough space to plant a new tree, even if there was a big tree. Decades ago, trees were often planted in very narrow boulevards but when the trees got large, they would damage the sidewalk, curb, or road. The Town tries to avoid these problems by not planting a tree unless there is enough space for it to grow to its mature size.

The Town does not regulate trees on private property, except when there is a planning application. 

If a property owner has submitted a planning application (i.e., Subdivision, Site Plan Agreement or Minor Variance), the Town may require the Applicant to create a tree conservation and management plan. This plan determines how trees will be removed in the development process, and how compensation plantings will be achieved. 

All forestry debris may be taken to the following locations:

1. St. Marys Landfill Site (visit the Landfill webpage for hours) at 1221 Water Street South
2. Municipal Operations Centre (dawn to dusk) at 408 James Street South 

If you wish to plant in an area that faces the street, please contact the Town’s Public Works Department at 519-284-2340 or by email before you plant to ensure the tree is on your property.

The Town has created a tree species list, the list accounts for modified environments and natural areas. This list might be helpful when considering different tree species. Property owners are not required to abide by this list.