Dozens of trees cut hours before ban
$1,000 fine a ‘slap on the wrist,’ says West Vancouver resident shocked to see rush job on clearcut
Sometimes it was hard to talk over the sound of chainsaws next door.
Liesa Norman could only watch in shock as dozens of trees that had provided perches for eagles only a day or two before were now stumps in a neighbouring West Vancouver property.
“They cut down eight or so last fall, then stopped so I thought they were done,” Norman said. “They’ve cut down at least 30 in the past two days.”
What sparked the clearcut was district council deciding to put to a vote a bylaw that would ban the cutting down of trees with a diameter of 75 centimetres or more.
Council gathered Wednesday for a special session to vote on the bylaw. Just before 7 p.m., council approved the interim bylaw, giving West Vancouver time to examine the issue and discuss it before it’s revisited this summer for a more permanent decision.
“We’re going to be reaching out to the community at large, to residents, to homeowners, to people in the building industry, to arborists, everybody really, to have a conversation about whether this is a step in the right direction,” said Jim Bailey, West Van’s director of planning and development services.
Bailey noted the interim bylaw protects trees of any species that are 75 cm in diameter or larger, as well as Arbutus and Garry oak trees 20 cm in diameter or larger and that measure 1.4 metres from the ground.
The particular tree that was being felled next to Norman’s property while The Province visited Wednesday was about 36-metres tall.
One of the crew of arborists guessed it was about 100 years old.
“The North Shore is known for its beautiful park-like trees,” Norman said. “What is devastating is the alarming rate at which they are being cut down with no laws in place to protect their beauty, the environment and a unique esthetic heritage.
“Just yesterday I was meditating on the back deck and watched an eagle and her eaglet land in these trees just feet from my eyes. It was breathtaking, it was spectacular and magical.
“Now, no more ravens, no more eagles, no more wind whispering stories through their branches.”
Just up the street from Norman’s property, there’s another huge clearcut to make way for a new home. Same story around the corner and down a block.
The new bylaw, as proposed, would impose fines of $1,000 for any trees felled that have a diameter of more than 75 cm. That still leaves a lot of leeway to fell trees and the fine will be no deterrent in any event, Norman said.
“People are going to do it and pay the fine, it’s a slap on the wrist to someone in their Ferrari on their way to work,” she said.
There needs be higher fines or even minimal incarceration for any bylaw to have bite, she said.
The property owners at 2975 Marine Dr., who were racing to fell as many trees as possible before council voted Wednesday, never approached their neighbours to inform them of their plans, Norman said.