Local tree-rule guide
Burlington tree rules
Private trees 20 cm+ inside the urban boundary; public and special-status trees also protected.
The local rule
Burlington's Private Tree By-law applies within the urban planning boundary and regulates private trees with a diameter of 20 cm or more, subject to its exemptions and process.
Public trees are handled separately, and the City provides different permit/exemption routes for dead or high-risk trees.
Inside Burlington’s Urban Planning Area Boundary, a permit is required to injure or remove a private tree 20 cm or greater in diameter measured 1.37 m above ground.
Heritage trees and endangered, threatened or at-risk tree species can be protected at any size and can involve additional approvals.
A permit is still required for a 100% dead, terminal or high-risk tree, but Burlington says permit fees and compensation are waived for those categories.
Private-tree replacement ratios increase with tree size: the City publishes 2:1 for 20–35 cm, 3:1 for 36–74 cm and 4:1 for 75 cm or greater.
Local exceptions and conditions
Scope and protected trees
- Burlington's Private Tree By-law 040-2022 applies inside the Urban Planning Area Boundary to private trees at least 20 cm DBH, measured 1.37 m above ground.
- Its Public Tree By-law 098-2025 protects public trees of any size in both urban and rural areas.
- The City also identifies 'significant trees' at 75 cm or more and a maintenance rebate for some such specimens.
- Heritage trees and endangered or threatened tree species may need permits even below the ordinary 20 cm private threshold, plus other approvals.
- Check the City's map before applying an urban private-tree rule to a rural parcel.
Applications and timing
- Outside a building or pool application, an owner creates an online tree-permit account, uploads photographs, any neighbour consent, arborist report and tree protection or replacement plan, then pays the processing fee.
- A Forest Protection Officer may inspect and sets conditions and securities before issuance.
- Building and pool projects have coordinated Forestry review.
- Burlington does not publish a guaranteed number of days for every file on this page.
- After the permit is issued, the card must be visibly posted; staff must be notified at project completion before protection is removed and replacement security is returned.
- Boundary-tree injury requires the adjacent owner's signed consent.
Enforcement and exceptions
- For permitted private removals, Burlington lists 2:1 replacement for 20–35 cm, 3:1 for 36–74 cm and 4:1 at 75 cm or more.
- Its fee schedule includes a separate compliance inspection charge for contraventions, but that is not a universal fine.
- The significant tier changes both replacement ratio and the City's maintenance support; it should not be confused with a general exemption for a dead or high-risk tree, which still needs a permit with waived fees or compensation where verified.
Significant and heritage trees
- Burlington's 75 cm 'significant tree' category is tied to stronger replacement rules, while a heritage tree or endangered or threatened species may need protection regardless of the ordinary 20 cm urban private-tree trigger.
- The City's private bylaw operates inside its Urban Planning Area Boundary, so a rural lot should not be given the same one-number answer without a map check.
- Public trees have a separate bylaw and are protected at every size in the City.
- A large urban tree may require four replacement trees, compared with two for the lower 20–35 cm band; a narrow lot could need an approved alternative where that planting cannot fit.
Tree protection during construction
- The application is also a construction-management file.
- A tree protection zone is marked and kept in place while equipment moves around the lot, and Burlington requires notification at completion before security can be released.
- A building or pool application can coordinate Forestry review, whereas a stand-alone tree request uses the City's online permit process.
- The owner should show neighbour consent for a boundary tree and supply an arborist report or replacement plan when requested.
- The visible permit card and completion inspection mean the obligations continue beyond the day of felling.
- A 55 cm oak damaged by repeated wheel traffic inside its required protection zone can be an injury case even if no branches were cut.
Before work starts
- Ownership: check the property line. Public and boundary trees may follow a different process.
- Site context: review any development approval, covenant or protected-area conditions.
- Work requirements: confirm any permit, exemption or protection requirements that apply to the planned work.
Official sources
Last verified: September 28, 2026 · Primary municipal source reviewed September 23, 2026. Rules can change; confirm with the local authority before work. How we research
Local detail review: September 28, 2026.