What does Kawartha Lakes' tree by-law cover on a private lot?

Council's highlights of 24 September 2024 say the City Tree Canopy Preservation By-law, adopted and in effect, applies only to City-owned property, including improved and unimproved road allowances, shoreline road allowances and vacant land such as water access blocks, and that no person may damage or remove a City-owned tree without a permit. The same report proposed a Tree Preservation on Private Property By-law, narrowed to development applications under the Planning Act; Council referred it back to staff for review, including protections for shoreline properties.

Council's highlights of 22 September 2026 say the Environmental Advisory Committee is exploring a by-law for trees along shorelines, which would need to come back to Council before it could be put in place. Where a lot's edge meets a road or shoreline road allowance, the trees there may be the City's; a rule summary doesn't say who owns a given tree, and only a survey shows where a lot line runs.

• Regular Council highlights, 24 September 2024: the City Tree Canopy Preservation By-law and the private-property proposal
• Council highlights, 22 September 2026: the Environmental Advisory Committee's update on shoreline trees

Tree and ravine limits is in the free check as a summary of the City's rule, from our hand-kept table, with a link to the City's page. It is a rule for the city, not a survey of the trees on a lot.

Free check: pick “Tree and ravine limits” See the sample report