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THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF
ASHFIELD-COLBORNE-WAWANOSH
BY-LAW NUMBER 45-2016
BEING A BY-LAW TO REGULATE THE PROTECTION, PRESERVATION AND
REMOVAL OF TREES LOCATED AT OR NEAR THE SHORELINE OF
LAKE HURON WITHIN THE TOWNSHIP OF ASHFIELD-COLBORNE-WAWANOSH
WHEREAS Section 135 of the Municipal Act. 2001, S.O., c. 25, as amended, authorizes a local
Municipality to prohibit or regulate the destruction or injuring of trees; and
AND WHEREAS the Council for the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh deems it
desirable and in the public interest to enact a Shoreline Tree Preservation By-law for prohibiting
the clear cutting of and for protecting the living trees within the Shoreline of Lake Huron lying
and being within the geographical boundaries of the Township for the purpose of:
-
Regulating and controlling the removal, maintenance and protection of trees;
-
Protecting significant and sensitive natural areas;
-
Maintaining water quality:
-
Maintaining and enhancing natural habitat;
-
Preventing soil erosion and water run-off; and
-
Protecting, promoting and enhancing the aesthetic values within the Township.
NOW THEREFORE, the Council of the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh enacts as
follows:
1.
DEFINITIONS
In this By-law:
(a)
(a)
"Building Permit" means a building permit issued pursuant to the Building Code
Act, 1992, S.O. 1992. c. 23, and the regulations thereunder, as amended;
(b)
"Clerk" means the Clerk of the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh;
(c)
"Council" means the Council of the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh;
(d)
"County" means the Corporation of the County of Huron;
(e)
"Destroy" includes but is not limited to injury caused by cutting, burning, uprooting,
chemical application or other means and includes injury caused by neglect, accident or
design and the term "destruction" shall have a corresponding meaning;
(f)
"Good arboriculture practice" means the pruning, care and attention necessary to
promote and encourage the health, natural growth and form of a tree;
(g)
"Good forestry practices" means the proper implementation of harvest, renewal and
maintenance activities known to be appropriate for the forest and environmental
conditions under which they are being applied and that minimize detriments to forest
values including significant eco-systems, important fish and wildlife habitat, soil and
water quality and quantity, forest productivity and health and the aesthetics and
recreational opportunities of the landscape;
(h)
'Injure" means to destroy, harm, or damage a tree and includes, but is not limited to,
harm, damage or impairment caused by changing grades around a tree, compacting soil
over root areas, severing roots, improper application of chemicals, and the term 'Injury"
and "injuring" shall have a corresponding meaning;
(i)
"Lake" means Lake Huron;
(j)
"Officer" means a provincial offences officer and includes a person appointed by
Council as an Officer for the purpose of enforcing By-Laws enacted by Council from
time to time;
(k)
"OPFA Member" means a Registered Professional Forester or Associate Member of the
Ontario Professional Foresters Association (OPFA) in good standing as defined in the
Professional Foresters Act, 2000, S.0. 2000. c. 18, as amended;
(l)
"Order" means an order issued by Council, a court or tribunal and includes a Stop Work
Order issued pursuant to this By-Law;
(m)
"Owner" means a person having any right, title, interest or equity in land including a
tenant or licensee;
(n)
"Person" includes an individual, partnership, or corporation;
(o)
"Qualified Arborist" means a person who has successfully completed all of the
requirements of a program from the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and
Universities designed to train a person as an arborist or a person who is a member in
good standing of the International Society of Arboriculture or the American Society of
Consulting Arborists;
(p)
"Qualified Tree Marker" means:
(i)
an individual who is a Certified Tree Marker in good standing as designated by
the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Certified Tree Marker Training
Program (the "MNR Program"): or
(ii)
an OPFA member who has successfully completed MNR Program; or
(iii)
a Qualified Arborist who has successfully completed the MNR Program;
(q)
"Silvicultural prescription" means a site-specific operational plan prepared by an
OPFA member or a Qualified Arborist that describes the existing forest conditions and
the forest management objectives for an area, and which includes recommendations for
harvesting and controlling the establishment, composition, constitution, and growth of
trees or forests from seedlings though to the desired endpoint of the treed area in a
manner that accommodates other resource values as identified;
(r)
"Shoreline" means that area at or near the shores of Lake Huron located within the
geographical boundaries of the Township prescribed in section 2 of Ontario Regulation
164/06 made pursuant to the Conservation Authorities Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.28 or any
successor legislation or regulation;
(s)
"Site" means an area that is a Shoreline in which one or more living trees are located;
(t)
"Tree" means any species of woody perennial plant of any size, including its root
system, which can reach a height of at least 4.5 metres at physiological maturity;
(u)
"Township" means the Corporation of the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
or the area up to and including the geographical boundaries of the Township as the
context requires.
2. AREAS SUBJECT TO THIS BY-LAW
This by-law applies to all trees located within a Shoreline but does not apply to trees located in
woodlands and woodlots regulated by the County.
3.
EXEMPTIONS
(1)
This By-law does not apply to:
(a)
activities or matters undertaken by the County, a municipality or a local board of the
County or of a municipality;
(b)
activities or matters undertaken pursuant to a licence issued under the Crown Forest
Sustainability Act, 1994; or
(c)
the injuring or destruction of trees by a person licensed under the Surveyors Act to
engage in the practice of cadastral surveying or his or her assistant, while making a
survey; or
(d)
the injuring or destruction of trees pursuant to an approved site plan, a plan of subdivision
or a consent under sections 41, 51 or 53 of the Planning Act or as required by a site plan
agreement or subdivision agreement; or
(e)
the injuring or destruction of trees required by a development permit authorized by
regulation made under section 70.2 of the Planning Act or as a requirement of an
agreement entered into under the regulation: or
(f)
the injuring or destruction of trees by a transmitter or distributor, as those terms are
defined in section 2 of the Electricity Act, 1998, for the purpose of constructing and
maintaining a transmission system or a distribution system, as those terms are defined in
that section: or
(g)
the injuring or destruction of trees undertaken on land described in a licence for a pit or
quarry or a permit for a wayside pit or wayside quarry issued under the Aggregate
Resources Act; or
(h)
the injuring or destruction of trees undertaken on land in order to lawfully establish and
operate or enlarge any pit or quarry on land:
(i)
that has not been designated under the Aggregate Resources Act or a predecessor
of that Act, and
(ii)
on which a pit or quarry is a permitted land use under a by-law passed under
section 34 of the Planning Act: or
(i)
activities or matters undertaken by the provincial or federal government or their
authorized agents: or
(j)
the destruction or injury of trees required in the exercise of the rights or powers of a
hydroelectric corporation or any public utility board or commission: or
(k)
the injuring or destruction of trees in accordance with Good Forestry Practices described
in a Silvicultural Prescription prepared by an OPFA Member or Qualified Arborist and
in accordance with tree marking carried out by a Qualified Tree Marker;
(l)
the destruction or injuring of trees reasonably required to build and maintain structures
and install and maintain utilities and services for such structures in respect of which a
Building Permit has been issued provided that no tree shall be destroyed or injured that is
located more than 5 metres from the outer edge of the structure, utility or service; or
(m)
on property only accessible by water, the destruction or injuring of trees reasonably
required to provide a temporary access road no wider than 5 metres to the structure,
utility or service for which a Building Permit has been issued: or
(n)
the destruction or injuring of trees that is reasonably required in order to install and
maintain a single lane driveway for vehicular access to the structure, utility or service for
which a Building Permit has been issued provided that no tree is destroyed or injured that
is located more than 2.5 metres from the centreline of the driveway: or
(o)
on property that includes a Shoreline that has no other access to the water, the destruction
or injuring of trees necessary to construct and maintain a pathway no wider than 2 metres
to provide access to the water: or
(p)
the injury or destruction of trees which are a danger to individuals by reason of storms,
high winds, floods, fires, snowfalls, freezes, insects, disease, wildlife or other natural
causes: or
(q)
the pruning of tree branches in accordance with good arboricultural practice to maintain
but not enlarge an existing view of the Lake.
4.
STOP WORK ORDERS
(1)
If an Officer is satisfied on reasonable and probable grounds that a contravention of this
By-Law has occurred or is occurring, the Officer may issue a Stop Work Order
substantially in the form attached as Schedule "A" to this By-Law requiring the involved
person or persons to immediately stop the injuring or destruction of trees.
(2)
In addition to any other authority an Officer may possess, an Officer has the authority
prescribed by section 436 of the Municipal Act, or its successor legislation, to enter upon
private property in the performance of his or her duty.
(3)
A Stop Work order issued under this section may be served personally or by registered
mail addressed to the last known address of:
(i)
the registered owner of the property; and
(ii)
any other person the Officer believes on reasonable and probable grounds is
responsible for a contravention of the By-Law.
(4)
Where service of an Order is made by registered mail, the Order shall be deemed to have
been served on the fifth day after the Order is mailed.
(5)
Notwithstanding subsection (2), service of the Stop Work Order may be served by
posting a copy of the Order in a conspicuous place at or near the site where the
contravention is believed to have occurred and such service shall be deemed to be good
and sufficient service on the person or persons to whom the Stop Work Order is
addressed.
(6)
Service of the Stop Work order may be proved by Affidavit.
5.
OFFENCES
(1)
Except as permitted by this By-Law, no person shall, or cause or permit any other person
or persons to, destroy or injure any living tree located within a Shoreline.
(2)
No person shall, or cause or permit any other person or persons to, fail to comply in
whole or in part with a Stop Work Order.
(3)
No person shall, or cause or permit any other person or persons to, remove, deface or
obscure a Stop Work.
(4)
No person shall, or cause or permit any other person or persons to, obstruct or interfere
with an Officer in the execution of his or her duty.
6.
PENALTIES
(1)
Any person who is convicted of an offence contrary to section 5(1) of this By-Law is
liable:
(a)
on their first conviction, to a fine of not more than $10,000.00 or $1,000.00 per
tree injured or destroyed, whichever is greater; and
(b)
on any subsequent conviction, to a fine of not more than $25,000.00 or $2,500.00
per tree injured or destroyed, whichever is greater.
(2)
Any person who is convicted of an offence contrary to sections 5(2) of this By-Law is
liable:
(a)
on their first conviction, to a fine of not more than $10,000.00; and
(b)
on any subsequent conviction, to a fine of not more than $25,000.00.
(3)
Any person convicted of an offence contrary to section 5(3) of this By-Law is liable to a
fine of not more than $5,000.00.
(4)
Any person convicted of an offence contrary to section 5(4) of this By-Law is liable to a
fine of not more than $25,000.00.
(5)
Upon conviction, in addition to any other penalty imposed, the court in which the
conviction is entered or any court of competent jurisdiction thereafter may order, at the
expense of the person convicted, that the person convicted restore the area in which the
offence occurred in such manner and within such time as the court considers appropriate.
(6)
An officer or director of a corporation who permits, causes or acquiesces to an act or
omission of the corporation which contravenes this By-Law is guilty of an offence and,
whether or not the corporation has also been convicted of an offence, upon conviction the
Court may impose any penalty on that officer or director that could have been imposed
upon the corporation.
7.
CONFLICT WITH OTHER BY-LAWS
Nothing in this By-law shall exempt any person from complying with the requirements of any
other laws or from obtaining any license, permission, permit, authority or approval required
under any federal or provincial legislation or other By-Law.
8.
ADMINISTRATION
(1)
Schedule A' shall form part of this By-Law.
(2)
In the event a Court of competent jurisdiction should adjudge that any section or sections
of this By-Law are not be valid for any reason, such section or sections shall be deemed
to be severable from the remainder of the By-Law and the remainder of the By Law shall
stand and be enforceable to the same extent as if the offending section or sections had not
been included therein.
(3)
An owner of a property upon which it is alleged a contravention of this By-Law has
occurred shall be presumed to have caused or permitted the injury or destruction of a tree
or trees located within a Shoreline on their property which presumption may be rebutted
by evidence to the contrary on the balance of probabilities.
(4)
An owner of a property upon which it is alleged a contravention of this By-Law has
occurred shall be presumed to have caused or permitted the contravention of an Order
which presumption may be rebutted by evidence to the contrary on the balance of
probabilities.
9.
SHORT TITLE
The short title of this By-Law is the "Shoreline Tree Preservation By-law".
Read a FIRST and SECOND time this 4th day of October, 2016.
Read a THIRD TIME and FINALLY PASSED this 4th day of October, 2016.
_______________________________________
Original signed by
Reeve, Ben VanDiepenbeek
________________________________________
Original signed by
Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer, Mark Becker
SCHEDULE "A"
STOP WORK ORDER
TOWNSHIP OF ASHFIELD-COLBORNE-WAWANOSH
TO:
(NAME AND ADDRESS)
AND TO:
(NAME AND ADDRESS)
Pursuant to the SHORELINE TREE PRESERVATION BY-LAW ,YOU ARE HEREBY
DIRECTED AND ORDERED TO forthwith stop, halt, cease, and desist from any and all
works associated with the destruction and injury of trees or removal thereof from those lands
comprising;
LOT ______ CONCESSION: _____________________
MUNICIPALITY: _______________________________
DATE OF ORDER:
_________________________
SIGNATURE OF OFFICER: _________________________
NAME OF OFFICER:
_________________________
TAKE NOTICE that it is an offence to fail to comply with this Order.
The Corporation of the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
82133 Council Line
R.R. No. 5,
Goderich, Ontario
Phone: 519-524-4669
Fax: 519-524-1951