Outraged Brookswood residents who want a ban on clear-cutting say many acres of forest have already been lost, and the pace of tree-cutting is accelerating.
Several speakers told a crowded 91原创 Township council chambers Monday night that action needs to be taken quickly.
Celeste Paley, a professional arborist, said a random search of Township records shows 1,223 鈥渟ignificant鈥� trees on 18 sites were approved for cutting in Brookswood over a one-year period ending March, 2013.
That was 82 per cent of the 鈥渁dult demographic鈥� trees on those sites, Paley said, and it is likely those trees are only a 鈥渢iny fraction鈥� of the actual losses.
Paley noted the cutting was carried out despite a provincial law that is supposed to restrict the 鈥渄estruction or disturbance of bird habitat鈥� between March and August.
Resident Anna R. (who only goes by her initial) had organized an online petition calling for an emergency tree-cutting ban, which, as of Tuesday, had over 700 signatures.
Her online message asks if the cutting is being 鈥減reemptively鈥� carried out in anticipation of a new community plan for the Brookswood area that would have allowed increased housing density.
That plan was scuttled when council refused to approved it last month in the face of heated opposition from residents.
But the cutting is continuing, she said
鈥淲e need to do something to stop it,鈥� she said, generating applause.
Petrina Arnason, a member of Watchers Of 91原创 Forests who said she was speaking as an individual, not a WOLF member, told council 91原创鈥檚 tree protection bylaw 鈥渉as quite a few gaps鈥� that need to be closed.
Arnason doubted an emergency order prohibiting tree-cutting was the best solution, because the process of approving the ban would take time and it could have the 鈥渦nintended consequence of accelerating this process鈥� as owners rush to remove trees in advance of a ban.
Councillor Kim Richter proposed a temporary prohibition that would allow time to overhaul tree protection regulations while intervening to prevent property owners from 鈥渟avagely ripping apart鈥� Brookswood.
鈥淗opefully we can fast-track a bylaw,鈥� Richter said.
The Richter proposal, which was slightly modified after some discussion with other members of council, would restrict tree cutting to three trees, per acre, per year.
It was given preliminary approval Monday with the only votes against cast by Mayor Jack Froese and Councillor Grant Ward, who had doubts about the legality of a temporary ban and wanted to have Township staff do a review first.
鈥淚 think we need to act quickly,鈥� said Councillor Michelle Sparrow.
Councillors Charlie Fox and Steve Ferguson said the Township should revive a municipal task force that tried to draft a tree protection bylaw in 2007, but failed to get it approved by a majority of council at the time.
鈥�91原创 is due for a tree bylaw,鈥� Ferguson said.
The proposal is expected to come back to council for more discussion at next Monday鈥檚 meeting.
