What does Whitchurch-Stouffville's tree by-law cover on a private lot?

The Town's page says the by-law applies to private property owners making Site Plan, Plan of Subdivision and Consent applications. Private trees of 10 centimetres or more in diameter at standard height must be identified on the landscape plans for those applications, and a mature tree, a private tree of 30 centimetres or more in the Town's settlement areas, may be removed only with Town approval and compensation, such as relocation, replacement trees or cash in lieu. The by-law names the settlement areas as Vandorf-Preston Lake, the Community of Stouffville, Gormley, Ballantrae-Musselman Lake and the Hamlet of Bloomington. A heritage tree designated under the Ontario Heritage Act or protected by a heritage conservation easement may not be relocated or removed.

Replacement trees are planted on the same property at ratios the by-law sets by trunk size, three for one for a mature tree of 30 to 49 centimetres, or paid for as cash in lieu where they can't be planted. The by-law doesn't apply to trees under the Region's Forest Conservation By-law 2013-68, to emergency work, or to trees in nurseries, orchards, tree farms and operating golf courses, and the Town's page says removing a mature tree without approval is an offence. A rule summary says what the by-law covers; it doesn't say who owns a given tree or how wide its trunk is.

• Private Tree By-law: the Town's page on private, mature and heritage trees in planning applications
• Private Tree Preservation and Protection By-law 2023-060-RE: the by-law, with its settlement areas, replacement ratios and exemptions (PDF)

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

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