A property owner whose home backs onto Buckingham Creek could face a $500 fine for allegedly cutting down trees without a permit.
Geoff Gooderham, a landscape development technician for the City of Burnaby, told the NOW an investigation is underway into complaints that roughly 19 alder trees are no longer standing.
“The property owner cut them on Feb. 5 and didn’t have a permit. Without one, the fine under the ticketing bylaw is $500,” Gooderham said. “I’m not sure why they did it, but I’ve been told they were afraid of trees falling.”
He added his department takes issues like this one very seriously and hopes it’s a reminder to residents about following the rules.
“In this situation, a tree cutting permit would have cost $72 per tree, up to a maximum of $500 for the property. This property owner will be fined, and they’ll still have to come and get the tree permit and put replacement trees in.”
Gooderham said the property owner is currently away, so it’s been “a little hard” to impose the penalty.
Because the alder trees provide shade to nearby spawning salmon, Goodherham said it’s unlikely the city would have given the green light.
“If you have a problem tree that needs to be cut down, contact us and we’ll come out and talk to you about it. We try to be as reasonable as we can,” he said.
