Local tree-rule guide
Vaughan tree rules
Private-tree rules are present; check size/location exceptions.
The local rule
Vaughan's current Tree Protection By-law regulates private trees with a diameter of 20 cm or more, subject to the bylaw's exemptions and permit types.
The City requires an arborist report for many private-tree removal applications while providing different documentation for some dead, hazardous or ash-tree cases.
Application details
What Vaughan’s 2025 bylaw requires in a 2026 application
- Vaughan now separates dead/hazardous trees, ordinary residential removals, construction/infill removals and tree-preservation permits.
- The correct category changes both the evidence and the fee.
The City’s fee schedule lists $237.35 for a private-property tree removal/injury/protection application including the first tree, and $153.25 for each second or subsequent tree.
$360.50 for the first tree and $169.79 for each additional tree. Vaughan also publishes a $716.63 tree-requirement fee in the same schedule.
An arborist report is required for permit applications except the Dead, Hazardous or Emerald Ash Borer-Infected Tree category. Vaughan asks for canopy percentage being removed, species, at least two photos per tree, diameter measurements, condition, removal reason, replacement recommendations and the arborist’s certification number.
If the trunk straddles property lines, all affected owners must agree to the removal.
The City publishes a standard initial response time of 30 business days. A forestry inspector conducts a site visit and the arborist report and replanting plan must be accepted where those documents apply.
An issued permit must be posted in a prominent location visible to the public before the authorized work proceeds.
Local exceptions and conditions
Scope and protected trees
- Vaughan's Tree Protection By-law 177-2025 regulates both public and private trees.
- A private tree at 20 cm in diameter, including the bylaw's base-diameter test, requires a permit before injury or removal.
- For a trunk straddling property lines, Vaughan requires all owners' agreement.
- A 21 cm backyard tree selected for aesthetic reasons follows a different application category from a dead, hazardous or Emerald Ash Borer-infected tree.
- The City also distinguishes construction/infill and tree-preservation permits, so a pool or driveway expansion may call for protection of a retained tree as well as a removal decision.
Applications and timing
- The normal private removal path begins with an arborist report and online application, followed by a Forestry inspection and review of a replanting plan where applicable.
- The dead/hazardous/ash route does not require that arborist report under the City's instructions.
- Vaughan publishes a standard initial response time of 30 business days for tree-permit requests; this is an initial response, not a promise that every permit will be issued on day 30.
- A granted permit must be posted visibly on the lot.
- Start the application before booking excavation, and include species, two photographs, measurements at base and breast height, canopy removal and replacement recommendations where required.
Enforcement and exceptions
- Vaughan identifies unpermitted injury or destruction, failure to protect a tree named in permit conditions, and non-compliance with an order as offences.
- Penalty depends on the current bylaw and enforcement path; the service page does not state one universal fine.
- No special citywide 'heritage tree' diameter is substituted here for the 20 cm test, though individually retained or public trees can carry conditions.
Posting and canopy information
- The bylaw's public posting requirement makes the status visible to neighbours and inspectors while work proceeds.
- If an arborist later changes the selected tree or construction access, the existing permit conditions should be checked before cutting a second stem.
- Vaughan's report requirements also ask for the percentage of property canopy to be removed, not just one trunk's measurement.
- Those details make a multi-tree infill application more involved than a dead-tree request.
The initial-response timeline
- Vaughan's Tree Protection By-law 177-2025 is newer than many contractor checklists.
- Its permit page gives a standard initial response of 30 business days for Tree Permit Requests, which is the time for a first response, not a guarantee that a complicated application will be approved in 30 days.
- An arborist inventory, canopy percentage, site plan and replacement proposal may have to be assessed before a healthy tree can be cut.
- A dead or hazardous-tree application may need condition evidence, but an owner's opinion does not substitute for the City's permit where the bylaw applies.
Public and retained trees
- The public side is separate: a street tree cannot be moved or pruned as though it belonged to an abutting homeowner.
- Vaughan describes offences that include failing to protect a tree identified for retention in permit conditions or disobeying an order, in addition to unpermitted cutting.
- For a rebuild, the issued plan should be given to the excavation, grading and tree crews, with the protection area marked on the ground.
- If a second tree later blocks access, ask whether an amended permit is needed instead of treating the first approval as a site-wide clearing authorization.
- A retained tree's significance can arise from the approved development plan, not only its size.
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: October 1, 2026 · Primary municipal source rechecked October 1, 2026. Rules can change; confirm with the local authority before work. How we research
Local detail review: October 1, 2026.