Grey County has begun work to update its forest management bylaw.
At its most recent meeting, Grey County council gave the thumbs up to county staff to begin broad public and industry stakeholder consultations on planned updates to the forest management bylaw.
In the coming weeks and months, Grey County will consult with the local Indigenous community, the development industry, the forestry industry, conservation authorities, the agricultural community, local municipalities and the public about the planning updates to the bylaw.
Scott Taylor, the county’s director of planning, presented a staff report on the matter. The county’s forest management bylaw has now been in place for over 20 years. A plan to begin an update process started in early March 2020, but was shelved with the arrival of the COVID pandemic.
“The bylaw is getting a little long in the tooth,” Taylor told county council. “As well, staff having worked with the bylaw for 20 years have noticed some deficiencies in the bylaw that we would like to seek some direction on potentially correcting.”
The staff report on the matter outlined that current bylaw has two types of tree-cutting applications: selective cutting and clear-cutting (minor exemptions).
Selective cutting is further broken down in the report to include rules around the circumference of the trees that can be cut and managed cutting that follows the rules of good forestry.
"Circumference limit cutting targets the best trees of the largest size, which is not ideal for the overall health of the woodlot," states the report. "A managed harvest targets all sizes and those trees that are not growing as well, or showing signs of disease or distress, which benefits the overall health of the woodlot."
Staff approve or deny applications for selective cutting under the current bylaw and there is no public input involved.
Clear-cutting, also called minor exemption, permits have to get approval from county council, and the process includes public circulation of the application.
"In recent years the county has seen a dramatic increase in the number of minor exemption applications received," states the report. "From 2004 – 2011 there were no minor exemption applications. However, in comparison, in 2024 alone there were ten minor exemption applications submitted.”
The update to the bylaw proposes the following changes:
- Removal of circumference limit cutting, and only allowing for managed cutting in accordance with good forestry practices,
- Updates to the minor exemption application processing including:
- Change of name to special permits,
- Giving county council the opportunity to delegate approval authority.
- Outlining complete application requirements, including a process to return an application if incomplete,
- Changes to circulation timelines (15 business days instead of 15 calendar days), and
- The ability to add conditions to the approval of a minor exemption, including replanting and rehabilitation.
- Stop work orders that also require replanting and/or rehabilitation.
- Penalties are proposed to be increased to the following:
- First conviction (individuals) not more than $50,000 or $5,000 per tree (currently $10,000 or $1,000 per tree), and
- Subsequent conviction(s)(individuals) not more than $100,000 or $10,000 per tree (currently $25,000 or $2,500 per tree).
Taylor also explained that the county wants to ensure its forestry management bylaw is working in conjunction with local municipal tree bylaws that might be in place or planned in the future.
“We don’t ever want to get into a situation where somebody is needing to apply for a permit under multiple bylaws,” he said.
Taylor said the proposed fine increases recognize that the previous fines weren’t functioning properly.
“We did run into situations under the old bylaw where people were just viewing these penalties as the cost of doing business and not even seeking permits or trying to comply with the bylaw,” he said. “We are looking to make the penalties more severe.”
Grey Highlands Mayor Paul McQueen asked if the new bylaw included exemptions for tree cutting for personal use, for firewood, to protect fence lines and cutting timber to be used for fence posts or a project like replacing a barn floor.
Taylor explained that farming usage tree cutting is permitted by the province through legislation. He also said there are exemptions built into the bylaw for tree cutting that is for personal use. The bylaw has exemptions for barn, shed or silo building if a landowner has obtained a building permit.
“Staff believe that the new bylaw strikes a balance between preserving a farmer’s ability to continue about their operations with minimal headaches and hassles from the county, but also protecting our wood cover, which we know is so important to our landscape and our community,” he said.
Chatsworth Mayor Scott Mackey expressed concern that the bylaw might hinder property owners looking to bring tree-covered land back into farm production.
“In the last number of years, with increased value in croplands, we’ve seen marginal farmland that might fall under the definition of woodlands that are covered with hawthorn or small apple trees that are being brought back for agricultural land,” said Mackey. “Would the agricultural community be prohibited from doing that with this bylaw?”
Taylor said those situations would be determined as “case-by-case scenarios.” Taylor said the bylaw does include a definition of woodland that would be used to make a determination whether a permit would be needed to cut.
The Blue Mountains Deputy Mayor Peter Bordignon asked if the proposed new bylaw addressed the issue of developers clear cutting their properties in advance of development plans.
Taylor explained under the current bylaw, a developer with planning approval for a subdivision does not need a permit under the forestry bylaw to cut trees. However, Taylor said the current bylaw does not address the issue of developers coming forward to ask for a tree-cutting permit in advance of submitting a planning application.
He said the new bylaw proposes a system that would allow a developer to get a permit for “selective clearing” of trees in order to do preparation work (environmental studies, drilling bore holes, etc) ahead of a formal application.
At the meeting, county council did not make any changes to the draft bylaw. County council voted in favour of receiving the staff report and gave the thumbs up for staff to begin the consultation process.