Does Waterloo need a permit to remove a tree on a private lot?

The City says City trees grow on public land, such as boulevards, parks, trails and green spaces, and that trees on private property are the owner's responsibility. The City Tree Bylaw prohibits cutting down, removing, injuring or damaging a tree on City property, changing soil levels or digging where that would likely damage one, and fastening signs or wires to it; residents may not cut, prune or remove City trees.

The bylaw counts a tree as a tree on City property when its trunk is located wholly or in part on City property, so a tree straddling a front lot line can fall under it. Neither page names a bylaw that requires a permit to remove a tree standing wholly on private land. A rule summary doesn't settle who owns a tree near a lot line; a property survey is the record for that.

• City Tree Bylaw: the consolidated bylaw: definitions and prohibitions
• Get help with a city tree: the City's page on City trees and private 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