By Cheryl Jahn

Green spaces bylaw coming?

Oct 24, 2023 | 3:43 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – A piece of property at the end of 22nd Avenue for a proposed development that prompted a discussion amongst Council about the practice of removing trees to make way for development, housing, or otherwise.

Council heard from neighbors of this proposed site about concerns over losing green space. There is nothing that upsets folks in Prince George more than cutting down a tree.

“I mean, a lot of people would say we live in the middle of a wilderness, and yet on the weekend, what do we do? We go camping into the further into the wilderness,” says City Councillor Trudy Klassen. “So and Prince George, because we are so far away from other places and like, further far away from from the mainland, we have to find those innovative ways to make us still attractive. And one thing that brings people up here is the amount of nature that we have.”

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Virtually every major development as a matter of preparation levels every tree. But the issue has come up around Council Chambers more than once in recent years in order to build a better city.

“We need to have a clean, clear policy regarding how many trees, how many trees per acre, and if a people cut down the tree for a certain reason has to be had to be done in the most scientific way to understand a certain amount policy,” says Mayor Simon Yu.

Other municipalities, such as West Vancouver, have very strict bylaws in terms of replacing a tree that has been removed and which trees are considered “protected.” Council may be looking at something similar.

“Coverage means could be grass, it could be anything. So but that for me anyway, for a lot of people in Prince George, we understood coverage means trees is a canopy coverage,” explains the mayor. “So during my campaign, I always said that Prince George as a city, the overall green coverage has to be maintained.”

Council has a goal for infill development and densification in order to better handle the issue of urban spread. But the end run with this proposed green space bylaw is not to stymie development, given the dire need for housing. And Councilor Trudy Klassen says she has a plan to be thorough.

“We are in a housing crisis. We need more homes to be built. So I’m working with UNBC, and I want it like I want to include the Planning Department in that as well. Plus, I want to include some local homebuilders in that. And to find a bylaw or maybe we can eliminate some things that are not being effective so that it doesn’t have a negative impact on the home building community.”