Tree rules in Victoria: permits, protected trees and fees
What the City of Victoria, British Columbia, says about its Tree Protection Bylaw 21-035: protected trees, when pruning needs a permit, removal grounds, permit fees, replacement deposits, the tree minimum of 50 trees per hectare and the securities on development sites.
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 three City of Victoria documents as read on October 9, 2026: the Tree Protection Bylaw web page, the property owners info sheet and the developing a property info sheet. The rule itself is Tree Protection Bylaw No. 21-035, which the info sheets say came into effect on July 1, 2021. The wider list of cities is on the guide to tree permits in Canadian cities.
Protected trees
The web page lists what counts as a protected tree: a tree with a diameter at breast height (DBH) over 30 centimetres, a hedge containing any single stem over 30 centimetres, and Garry oak, arbutus, Pacific yew and Pacific dogwood over 50 centimetres in height. Replacement trees and trees under a restrictive covenant in the City's favour are protected. So is a tree of any size on a slope steeper than 33 per cent over 10 metres, or within 15 metres of the natural boundary of a watercourse. DBH is measured at 1.4 metres above existing grade. For a tree with two or more stems the page counts the cumulative diameter of the three largest, and for a hedge the largest stem. A hedge is a row of five or more trees of consistent size and form planted less than 1.24 metres apart on centre.
Pruning and removal
The property owners sheet has a decision chart. Pruning a protected tree needs a permit when it takes branches over 10 centimetres in diameter or more than 25 per cent of the total live foliage and bud-bearing branches. The sheet says a pruning permit would be approved if the work does not harm the tree's health, or if a protected hedge needs clearance or a uniform shape. A removal permit would be approved for a hazard tree whose risk cannot be mitigated otherwise, a tree that is dead or has more than 50 per cent of its crown dead, an invasive species, a tree causing structure or infrastructure damage that cannot be mitigated and a tree that has to go for construction.
Fees and replacement
| Type of application | Permit fee on the owners sheet |
|---|---|
| Pruning a protected tree; emergency cutting; removal of a hazardous, dead, more than 50 per cent dead or invasive tree | No fee |
| Other permits, lot up to 2,000 square metres | CA$50 |
| Other permits, lot from 2,000 to 4,000 square metres | CA$100 |
| Other permits, lot of 4,000 square metres or larger | CA$250 per 4,000 square metres |
The sheet says each replacement tree needs a refundable deposit of CA$350, with half returned once the tree is planted and the rest a year after planting if it is in good health. A removed protected tree needs one large or medium species replacement or two small species. A hedge needs one tree per four metres of length or another hedge of the same length. The sheet gives spacing for replacements: 1 metre from fences, neighbouring properties, utilities and paved surfaces, 6 metres from other large trees, 4 metres from medium trees and 2 metres from small trees and from buildings. The web page says an owner who proves a lot cannot fit replacements pays CA$2,000 cash-in-lieu for each one that cannot be accommodated, to the satisfaction of the Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities.
Development sites
The developing sheet says tree protection requirements must be resolved before building permits issue, and that applications can need an arborist report, a tree survey and management plan and a replacement tree plan. Barriers are required when construction happens within 5 metres of the protected root zone of a retained tree, and the permit is not issued until the barriers are installed and approved. The tree minimum is 50 trees per hectare, set as a condition of a tree permit at the building permit stage. Credits towards it are three for a retained specimen tree over 60 centimetres DBH, one for a retained protected tree, one for a large or medium replacement and half a credit for a small replacement.
The sheet lists securities for protection: CA$10,000 per retained specimen tree, CA$2,500 per other retained protected tree and CA$2,500 per four metres of retained protected hedge. Replacement securities are CA$2,000 for a large or medium species and CA$1,000 for a small species. The total security for one development site does not exceed CA$50,000, and it is returned once construction is complete and the permit conditions are met. Parks answers on 250.361.0600.
Sources
- City of Victoria, Tree Protection Bylaw (web page with FAQ), read October 9, 2026
- City of Victoria, Property owners info sheet on the Tree Protection Bylaw, read October 9, 2026
- City of Victoria, Developing a property info sheet on the Tree Protection Bylaw, read October 9, 2026
- City of Victoria, Tree Protection Bylaw No. 21-035 entry, read October 9, 2026