How the City deals with trees in Yorkton was again tweaked at the regular meeting of City Council Monday.
Council approved an amendment to the Property Standards Bylaw at their Aug. 24, 2015 Council meeting, regarding trees.
“That amendment was made in order to establish that property owners are required to prune trees on private property as part of the Property Standards set out in the City of Yorkton and also to provide for an Appeal Board hearing process. As private tree matters have been moved to the Property Standards Bylaw, it is appropriate to eliminate any conflicting direction and duplication that exists in the Urban Forestry Bylaw,” detailed a report circulated to Council.
In addition a number of ‘housekeeping” amendments to the Urban Forestry Bylaw were made including;
• The Urban Forestry Bylaw did not include a definition of Back Lane or Alley trees, however it was described in another section of the Bylaw. This revision clarifies that trees in back lanes and alleys are clearly defined as private trees since the City has never planted trees or shrubs in back lanes.
• Section 14.2 describing the appeal process, which has been relocated to the Property Standards Bylaw No. 1/2011. The statement “Given the value of the Urban Forest to our Community, removals shall always be considered the last option in all cases.” Speaks to removals and therefore has been under the related section of the Bylaw. The remainder of Section 14.2 is a duplication and can be removed.
