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SIDEWALKS, STREETS AND BOULEVARDS
PROTECTION BYLAW
BYLAW NO. 91-052
This consolidation is a copy of a bylaw consolidated
under the authority of section 139 of the Community
Charter. (Consolidated on January 22, 2026 up to Bylaw
No. 26-005)
This bylaw is printed under and by authority of the
Corporate Administrator of the Corporation of the City of
Victoria.
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No. 91-52
A BYLAW OF THE CITY OF VICTORIA
(Consolidated to include Bylaw No. 98-017 and 26-005)
to revise and consolidate the provisions of the Sidewalks and
Boulevards Protection Bylaw and to include provisions for the
regulation of soil removal.
Pursuant to the provisions of Sections 579, 582, 734 and 930.1
of the Municipal Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 290, the Municipal
Council of the Corporation of the City of Victoria enacts as
follows:
1.
This Bylaw may be cited as the "SIDEWALKS,
STREETS
AND
BOULEVARDS
PROTECTION
BYLAW."
2.
Whenever any damage is done to the pavement or
surface of a street, to sewers, drains, water lines,
sprinkler systems, underground conduits, or wiring; to
any sidewalk, any sidewalk crossing, curb, gutter, or any
street fixture or improvement; to any boulevard, tree,
shrub or grass erected, planted or maintained by the
City, the person who causes the damage shall forthwith,
on demand, pay to the City the reasonable cost incurred
by the City in repairing the damage.
3.
Where any damage as described in Section 2 has been
done by any builder or other contractor in the course of
construction, demolition, or addition to any building or
structure on land adjacent to any street, sidewalk or
boulevard, the builder or contractor and the owner of the
land are jointly and severally liable to the City for the
costs of repair.
4.
(1)
The costs referred to in Sections 2 and 3 are the
costs of labour, equipment rental, and material
directly attributable to the repairs, including the
removal of debris, plus an amount equal to 13%
of the labour, equipment rental, and material
costs to cover clerical and other indirect and
overhead costs of the City.
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(2)
In this Bylaw, "repair" includes the replacement of
any items mentioned in Section 2.
(3)
Where a tree is mutilated or destroyed and the
Director of Parks and Recreation determines that
it needs replacing, the cost of repair shall include
an amount for the value of the tree as calculated
by the Director of Parks and Recreation in the
manner established by the International Society
for Arboriculture.
(4)
A certificate setting out the cost of any repair and
signed by the City Engineer or, where applicable,
the Director of Parks and Recreation shall be
prima facie evidence of the correctness of the
cost.
5.
Where, in the opinion of the City Engineer, or the
Director of Parks and Recreation, any proposed work for
which a building permit or a demolition permit is required
may result in damage to one or more of the items
mentioned in Section 2, or may result in any spillage or
deposit of soil upon any of the items mentioned in
Section 2, the City Engineer shall not issue a building or
demolition permit until:
(a)
the applicant, with the exception of the applicant
who has paid a deposit pursuant to Section 6, has
deposited with the City
(i)
a damage deposit in accordance with
Schedule D of the Works and Services
Bylaw; and
(ii)
where damage to any grass, shrub or tree
may occur, a damage deposit equal to the
value of the shrubs and grass as
determined by the Director of Parks and
Recreation and 100% of the value of any
tree as determined by the Director of
Parks and Recreation in accordance with
Section 4.
6.
When there is to be an excavation at the site of a
proposed work for which a building permit or a demolition
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26-005
26-005
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permit is required and a hypothetical cut-slope line
drawn at a 1:1 slope from the base of the excavation, on
its outside perimeter towards the street, intersects the
surface of the property beyond a point 1.0 m from the
street boundary, the City Engineer shall not issue a
building or demolition permit until the applicant has
deposited with the City a damage deposit in accordance
with Schedule D of the Works and Services Bylaw.
7.
(1)
Where any damage as described in Section 2
occurs:
(a)
as soon as it is practicable to do so, the
City Engineer, or the Director of Parks and
Recreation where applicable, shall cause
the damage to be repaired by the City; or
(b)
with the permission of the City Engineer,
or the Director of Parks and Recreation
where applicable, repairs may be carried
out by a licensed contractor on behalf of
the applicant or the owner, provided the
repairs are done to the City's standards
and specifications.
(2)
If the damage is repaired by the City, the City
shall be entitled to deduct its costs, as determined
in Section 4, from the total of the damage
deposits made pursuant to the Services Bylaw.
8.
(1)
If during the work there is a spillage or deposit of
soil upon any of the items mentioned in Section
2, the applicant or the owner shall immediately
remove said spillage or deposit upon being
instructed to do so by the City.
(2)
If the applicant or the owner does not remove the
spillage or deposit forthwith, the City, by its
employees and others, may effect the removal at
the joint and several expense of the applicant and
the owner and the costs for doing so shall be
deducted from the total of the damage deposits
made pursuant to the Works and Services Bylaw.
(3)
The costs referred to in this bylaw for the removal
26-005
26-005
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of a spillage or deposit of soil are the costs of
labour and equipment rental directly attributable
to the removal plus an amount equal to 13% of
the labour and equipment rental to cover clerical
and other indirect and overhead costs of the City.
(4)
A certificate setting out the cost of any removal
and signed by the City Engineer shall be prima
facie evidence of the correctness of the cost.
9.
(1)
If, in the opinion of the City Engineer, a proposed
work for which a building permit or a demolition
permit is required is likely to result in material
other than soil being spilled or deposited on any
of the items mentioned in Section 2, the City
Engineer shall not issue a building or demolition
permit until the applicant has deposited with the
City a damage deposit in accordance with
Schedule D of the Works and Services Bylaw.
(2)
This
requirement
is
in
addition
to
the
requirements of Section 5.
(3)
If during the work there is a spillage or deposit of
material other than soil on any of the items
mentioned in Section 2, the applicant or the
owner shall immediately remove said spillage or
deposit upon being instructed to do so by the City.
(4)
If the applicant or the owner does not remove the
spillage or deposit forthwith, the City, by its
employees and others, may effect the removal at
the joint and several expense of the applicant and
the owner and the costs for doing so shall be
deducted from the total of the damage deposits
made pursuant to this bylaw.
(5)
The costs referred to in this Section for the
removal of a spillage or deposit of material other
than soil are the costs of labour and equipment
rental directly attributable to the removal plus an
amount equal to 13% of the labour and
equipment rental to cover clerical and other
indirect and overhead costs of the City.
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(6)
A certificate setting out the cost of any removal
and signed by the City Engineer shall be prima
facie evidence of the correctness of the cost.
10.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in
the preceding Sections, no person may cut down,
mutilate or prune any tree growing on any highway
without the prior written consent of the Director of Parks
and Recreation.
11.
Any person contravening the provisions of the preceding
Section is guilty of an offence and liable, on conviction,
to the penalties prescribed by the Offence Act.
12.
Bylaw No. 82-11, the Sidewalks and Boulevards
Protection Bylaw and any amendments are repealed.
13.
(1)
With the prior permission of the Director of Parks
and Recreation, a person may do any of the
following acts on a boulevard:
(a)
plant a tree, shrub, bush or hedge;
(b)
remove, destroy, cut or trim a tree, shrub,
bush or hedge;
(c)
place material on, under, or against a tree,
shrub, bush, or hedge.
(2)
Plantings on a boulevard must be carried out in
accordance
with
the
horticultural
policies
established by the City's Director of Parks and
Recreation.
(3)
The City's Director of Parks and Recreation must
give permission for the purposes of subsection
(1)(a) only if the planting would not
(a)
create a hazard to the safety of persons,
and
(b)
be likely to damage public property, or
private property legally located on the
boulevard.
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(4)
The City's Director of Parks and Recreation must
give permission for the purposes of subsection
subsections (1)(b) and (c) only if the permitted
action
(a)
would not create a hazard to the safety of
persons,
(b)
would not be likely to damage public
property, or private property legally
located on the boulevard, and
(c)
other than a permitted destruction, would
not endanger or destroy the life of the tree,
shrub, bush, or hedge.
Passed and received third reading by the Municipal Council the
day of , 1991.
Reconsidered and adopted by the Municipal Council the day
of , 1991.
CITY CLERK
MAYOR