Another residential lot in South Burnaby had the majority of its large trees cleared, according to area resident Bill Malkin.
Malkin, who lives near the property in the 4600 block of Victory Street, said the trees were cut down on Dec. 28 and 29, 2011.
He has lived in the single-family residential neighbourhood for the past 25 years or so, he said.
"It's a nice neighbourhood, lots of trees around," Malkin added.
The recent tree clearing is another sign that the city needs to move forward on revamping its tree bylaw, he said.
"I know they have to take some down for the house, and I understand that," Malkin said, "but there were some at the front that I think were right on the property line, and I don't see the need to have to take everything down."
Malkin signed a petition put together by neighbourhood tree activists Donna Polos and Thomas Chan last spring, asking that the city bring its tree bylaw from 1996 into line with other municipalities such as Vancouver, making it harder for owners to cut down the majority of trees on their properties.
Burnaby's current tree bylaw restricts property owners from cutting down large trees (larger than 20.3 centimetres in diameter) three months prior to applying for a demolition permit for a building on a property and one year afterward.
Large trees that residents cut down are supposed to be replaced with a new tree, according to the bylaw, though the replacement of trees isn't always a 1: 1 ratio.
The City of Burnaby started a review of the bylaw last fall, looking at other municipalities' bylaws and compiling an inventory of Burnaby trees on residential lots.
The city plans to conduct public consultations on the bylaw this spring, and present a final report to council before next fall, Basil Luksun, Burnaby's planning director, said last October.
However, the issue on Victory Street had less to do with the current bylaw and more to do with the health of the trees, according to the city's landscape development technician.
The two large cedar trees at the front of the property at 4657 Victory St. were not structurally sound, Geoff Gooderham said.
"Our policy is to try to retain trees that are in good condition, and this usually means, in the case of evergreen trees such as these, that the trees have a single straight trunk," he explained in an email. "In this case, these two trees had been severely topped in the distant past and had multiple . stems.
"This condition is considered to be a significant defect in the structural strength of the tree and adds significantly to the risk that the tree will fail," he added saying there was one other cedar on the property east of 4657 Victory St. that has a similar problem.
The city also allowed the owner to remove a small magnolia tree, a cherry tree, and a black locust tree at the back of the property, according to Gooderham.
The permit required that the owner replace the trees that were removed with four new ones - two conifers and two deciduous trees, he said.
At least two of those trees must be put in at the front of the property, he added.
