Tree Preservation By-Law Consultation Begins

The City of Peterborough is in the process of recreating the Tree Preservation Bylaw and is collecting feedback from Peterborough residents regarding how to protect the urban forest canopy. This is your chance to have input into what the By-law might look like.

The City of Peterborough released the following article on November 4th, 2019 – Click here for original post.

The Municipal Act requires municipalities to identify the way we protect and improve the urban canopy and natural vegetation. “To accomplish this, we are conducting a public consultation so that we can hear from residents and stakeholders to help us develop a holistic approach to canopy conservation and enhancement,” Papadacos adds.

We are hoping the community will share their perspectives on how we approach managing this key asset. “The urban forest is an important piece of community infrastructure that is at risk from the effects of climate change and at the same time one of our best tools to mitigate those effects,” says Paul Hambidge, the City’s Urban Forestry Manager.The consultation will include online engagement and a series of five open-house meetings.

Open-house meetings:
We will host five open-house meetings – one in each ward – to discuss the City’s urban forest canopy and what we can do to preserve it. The meetings are drop-in format and residents are welcome to participate when and where it is convenient.

All open-house meetings are from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

November 14 – Downtown – City Hall Lobby, 500 George St. North
November 19 – North End – Northminster United Church, 300 Sunset Blvd.
November 20 – West End – Westdale United Church,1509 Sherbrooke St.
November 26 – East City – Peterborough Lions Club Community Centre, 347 Burnham St.
November 27 – South End – Kinsmen Civic Centre, 1 Kinsmen Way

Online Engagement:
We are using our new online engagement space Connect Peterborough to understand the community perspectives on the urban canopy. All residents and stakeholders are encouraged to complete the online survey available at www.connectPTBO.ca and register to receive project updates. Beginning November 14, we will post the information presented at the open-house meetings and invite public input.

In addition to the broader public consultation, we are conducting a series of targeted stakeholder interviews with local organizations and tree care specialists to inform our next steps in the development of an urban canopy conservation by-law.

The public consultation will wrap-up on December 4, 2019.

For further information members of the media are welcome to contact the undersigned:

Michael Papadacos

Manager, Infrastucture Management

705-742-7777 ext. 1756

Paul Hambidge

Urban Forestry Manager

705-742-7777 ext. 1813