Tree rules in Kitchener: permits, protected trees and fees
What the City of Kitchener, Ontario, says about its Public Tree Bylaw (Chapter 690), its private tree conservation bylaw (Chapter 692) for lots over one acre, tree protection zones, administrative penalties and the compensation paid when a City tree is removed.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It describes four City of Kitchener documents as read on October 9, 2026: the Tree bylaws and working around trees web page, the Chapter 692 private tree bylaw, the Administrative Penalty Fines schedule for Chapter 690, and the Public Tree Removal and Compensation Program dated July 2026. Amounts are written as the City writes them, in Canadian dollars. The wider list of cities is on the guide to tree permits in Canadian cities.
Two bylaws and a policy
The City's web page names three instruments. The public tree bylaw regulates trees on public property throughout the city. The private tree bylaw regulates trees over 10 centimetres in diameter on private lots greater than 1 acre. The tree management policy sets how trees are handled in the development process on private property. A fourth, the boulevard beautification bylaw, covers landscaping in boulevards and rights of way. The page says ownership is decided by the property the tree stands on, not by who planted it.
Public trees
The page says trees in road rights of way, boulevards and parks are City-owned, and that damaging or removing them can bring fines or criminal charges under the public tree bylaw. It says the City updated that bylaw in June 2025, and lists the changes: clearer definitions and enforcement protocols, a ban on harming or disturbing City trees, including their roots and supports and their protection zones, tree protection zones scaled to tree size, stricter worksite requirements, mandatory approval and protection measures for work within 6.09 metres (20 feet) of City trees, rules for plantable spaces and a revised removal and compensation program. It also says only City-planted trees are allowed on boulevards, and that widening a driveway apron or cutting into the curb outside the property line needs a permit.
| Trunk diameter at breast height | Minimum setback radius, street and right-of-way trees |
|---|---|
| Under 20 cm | 1.8 m |
| 20 to 30 cm | 2.4 m |
| 31 to 40 cm | 3.0 m |
| 41 to 50 cm | 3.6 m |
| 51 to 60 cm | 4.2 m |
| 61 to 70 cm | 4.8 m |
| 71 to 80 cm | 5.4 m |
| 81 to 100 cm | 6.0 m |
| Over 100 cm | 6 cm for every 1 cm of diameter |
For trees in parks and open areas, the same page gives the same distances as a minimum and uses the dripline where that is greater. The setback is measured from the outside edge of the trunk in all directions.
Penalties and compensation for public trees
The Chapter 690 penalty schedule lists set amounts for a first contravention and a higher amount for second and later ones. The web page adds that penalties can reach CA$10,000 and can include enforcement notices and restoration or compensation.
| Short form wording in the schedule | First, then second and later |
|---|---|
| Cutting down, uprooting or removing any tree or part, living or dead (690.3.1(c)) | CA$1,500, then CA$2,000 |
| Injuring, cutting, topping, pruning, pollarding or applying chemicals to a tree (690.3.1(a)) | CA$1,000, then CA$1,500 |
| Failing to protect City trees within 6.09 metres (20 feet) of a lot or disturbance before construction, or trees over 100 cm within 10.06 metres (33 feet) (690.4.1(a)) | CA$1,000, then CA$1,500 |
| Unauthorized activity within a tree protection zone (690.3.1(d)) | CA$750, then CA$1,125 |
| Damaging or removing a stake, post, watering bag or guard (690.3.1(b)) | CA$300, then CA$450 |
| Planting a tree on City property without permission (690.5.1) | CA$300, then CA$450 |
The July 2026 compensation program says compensation for a removed City tree is not a one-for-one replacement or the tree's financial value, and that ratios rise with diameter. For a tree in a maintained boulevard, median or park area, it gives a ratio from 1 tree for a removal of 0 to 9 centimetres up to 12 trees for one over 100 centimetres. Cash in lieu is priced at CA$1,800 per replacement tree, so the range runs from CA$1,800 to CA$21,600. A proponent other than the City or its agent can use only the cash option. The program exempts trees that are dead or in very poor condition (under 30 per cent live crown), terminally diseased, hazardous or European buckthorn, as a qualified arborist determines. It says the compensation applies to unauthorized removals too, on top of any penalty.
Private trees: Chapter 692
The web page says a tree conservation permit may be needed to take out a tree on a lot bigger than 0.405 hectares, or one acre. It lists removals that need no permit: trees under 10 cm in diameter at chest height, dead, diseased or hazardous trees certified by someone the director of planning designates or approves, damaged or destroyed trees certified the same way where removal is in the interest of public safety after a disaster or storm, trees within 5 metres (16.4 feet) of an occupied building, removals where a building permit has already been issued for the work, and pruning that does not harm the tree. The bylaw's own exemption for land under 0.405 hectares is in section 692.4.1. A permit application needs the completed form, a detailed plan or survey, the fee and, for trees on a property line, written consent from the adjacent owner. For a development, the City asks for a general vegetation overview and a detailed vegetation plan or tree preservation plan with the application.
Chapter 692 sets fines of up to CA$25,000 for a person on a first conviction and up to CA$50,000 after that. For a corporation the limits are CA$50,000 and CA$100,000. The fines are exclusive of costs. Questions go to the City's contact line, 519-741-2345.
Sources
- City of Kitchener, Tree bylaws and working around trees, read October 9, 2026
- City of Kitchener, Chapter 692 Trees: Protection, Destruction, Injury (private tree bylaw), read October 9, 2026
- City of Kitchener, Attachment B Administrative Penalty Fines for Chapter 690 Public Tree Bylaw, read October 9, 2026
- City of Kitchener, Public Tree Removal and Compensation Program, July 2026, read October 9, 2026