OVERVIEW:

DID YOU KNOW that in the development of existing residential properties — EXCEPT for a period of 15 months plus the time required to demolish existing buildings and construct new buildings on those properties — the City of Burnaby's current bylaws allow owners and developers the right to the indiscriminate and UNREGULATED cutting down, damaging, and otherwise killing of ANY AND ALL TREES† — including so-called "PROTECTED" trees* — located on residential lots, AT ANY TIME, regardless of their size, health, location, or viability?

DID YOU KNOW that this practice lies in stark contrast to bylaws existent in the large majority of surrounding municipalities in the Lower Mainland, which require approval by means of issued permits by legislating authorities before any cutting down or damaging of protected trees may occur, AT ANY TIME?

WE DIDN'T, until a developer blatantly cleared ALL EXISTENT TREES from a well-kept, recently sold neighbouring lot in our community — and, as concerned neighbours, THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WE COULD DO ABOUT IT — other than to helplessly watch ... and despair.

HAVE YOU, as Burnaby residents, ever experienced the same? Would you care to do so in the very near future?

FYI, this is a COMMON PRACTICE, particularly on smaller residential developments, primarily to save the time, money, and effort required in physically protecting existing trees and their associated root structures in the process of excavating, and otherwise accessing properties during construction — and as would be required less than THREE MONTHS PRIOR to a demolition permit being applied for, and after a mandatory tree plan is forwarded to planning authorities.

We, as concerned citizens of Burnaby, believe that in the interest of preserving the natural essence and beauty afforded by the many large trees that currently exist throughout the residential areas of the City of Burnaby, and those which are primarily valued and appreciated by its respective citizens, CITY OF BURNABY BYLAW NO. 10482, subsection 4(g), which allows the unrestricted negation of this interest, should be repealed, and removed from the existing Bylaw.

Our primary concern with CITY OF BURNABY BYLAW NO. 10482 (also cited as Burnaby Tree Bylaw 1996) is in its allowance of residential property owners and their developers to cut down essentially ANY TREES† on properties with existing buildings, regardless of a tree's size, state of health, location, or feasibility of retention ― including those designated in this Bylaw as "protected"* — AT ANY TIME, EXCEPT DURING A PERIOD OF NEW BUILDING DEVELOPMENT, as defined in subsection 4(g) of Burnaby Tree Bylaw 1996, and as quoted in the petition below.

Effectively, this results in VIRTUALLY NO RESTRICTIONS on residential property owners and their developers IN CUTTING DOWN AND REMOVING ANY TREES SITUATED ON THEIR LOTS — INCLUDING LARGE, HEALTHY TREES — ANY TIME UP TO THREE MONTHS BEFORE APPLYING TO DEMOLISH EXISTING BUILDINGS, AND ANY TIME AFTER ONE YEAR FROM WHEN THEY MAY OCCUPY NEWLY CONSTRUCTED BUILDINGS.

This unique City of Burnaby allowance, largely to the benefit of residential property developers, lies in stark contrast to the bylaws protecting large healthy trees effective in the majority of surrounding metropolitan areas, including Vancouver, Richmond, Delta, and Surrey,* which require tree cutting permits AT ALL TIMES.

† Except for some provincially legislated, protected species.

* "Protected" trees are essentially defined in respective bylaws as healthy trees measuring at least 20 cm (8 inches) in diameter (at a height of 1.4 m above their bases), except for Surrey's, which defines the same as measuring at least 30 cm (11-3/4 inches) in diameter.

NOTE: Your personal information will be kept in strictest confidence, and WILL NOT be used for any purposes other than those of this petition.

Please feel free to contact any of your colleagues who are Burnaby residents, and who may share our concerns.

You may provide address links to this web page via your Facebook pages (see the 'Like' link above), personal email, and/or Twitter accounts, if you should so wish, and connect them with a direct link to this web page. Please include a personal message outlining this petition (you may feel free to copy any portion of this overview).

You may copy-and-paste the following direct link* (right-click the link and then from the cursor menu select 'Copy Shortcut' or 'Copy Link Location'):  http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/burnaby_tree_bylaw_1996/

* For a direct link format on your media page, DO NOT add adjacent punctuations or characters.

Thank you for your consideration.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If an iPetition donation page pops up after you sign this petition, you ARE NOT obligated to contribute to iPetition; DO NOT click 'Next' — you may simply close the page, and your signature will have been recorded.

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