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The City maintains trees on municipal property for the health, safety and well-being of the City’s tree canopy.
Street trees in Guelph
Before reporting a problem, check the street tree map.
Enter your address to see if a tree is City-owned, privately-owned or shared. The map also shows the species, size, and condition of street trees in Guelph.
View a detailed tree ownership map
Please contact us if you believe the tree ownership map is incorrect.
Trees on private property
You, your neighbours, and local businesses
If a tree trunk is completely on your property, the tree belongs to you. As the property owner, you are responsible for trimming, removing, and disposing of dead, hazardous trees, or branches – regardless of who planted the tree.
Guelph’s Tree Bylaw applies to all trees on properties larger than 0.2 hectares (0.5 acres). You are permitted to prune your private tree under the Private Tree Protection By-law provided the pruning meets good arboricultural standards, which include ensuring that no more than one-third of the live branches or limbs of a tree are cut in one season.
A qualified arborist should always be retained to carry out tree pruning.
Tree disputes on private properties
If a tree is growing on the boundary between two private properties, both property owners must agree and consent to injure (prune) or remove the tree. If property owners can’t agree, they can consult a private attorney.
Guelph’s Tree Bylaw applies to trees on private properties larger than 0.2 hectares (0.5 acres). The City mails notices to neighbouring properties whenever we issue a permit to a property owner planning to remove a tree(s).
Please report concerns about unlawful tree removal to the City’s Bylaw team.
If necessary, the City may trim or cut trees on private property if they pose a safety risk to people using roads or sidewalks.
Trees on City property and shared street trees
Guelph parks, trails, and boulevards
If the tree trunk is completely on City property, the City takes care of trimming and maintenance.
If a tree is growing on the boundary between City and private property, it is a shared tree. Legally, there is shared ownership and responsibility, and the City typically takes care of maintenance.
Please report any concerns you have about shared or City trees. We will assess the tree for potential risks or hazards within 15 business days. We prioritize safety issues first, then schedule other tree work.
We will complete the work as soon as we can. Thank you for your patience.
Tree damage after a storm
After a storm, the City cleans up fallen trees and branches on public property. We respond to immediate hazards and prioritize service calls based on the potential risk to people or property.
Tree maintenance
The City carries out proactive maintenance pruning and removals. The trees in each area are inspected by qualified staff to identify and conduct any maintenance that is required,
Our crews prune trees with these goals in mind:
Tree pruning is carried out to:
- To remove potential safety hazards
- To reduce storm damage
- To make clearances for roads, sidewalks, etc.
- To promote the health of a tree
- To encourage the natural form of the tree species
Industry standards for pruning
Common objects of concern and the typical minimum clearance for tree pruning:
- Sidewalk: 8 feet or 2.4 metres
- Residential street: 14 feet or 4.3 metres
- Driveway: 10 feet or 3 metres
- Stop signs, traffic regulatory signs, traffic signals and street lighting: 3 feet or 1 metre
- Traffic signals: 100 feet or 30 metres unimpeded for approaching vehicles
- Building side clearance: 3 feet or 0.9 metres
- Fire hydrant clearance: 0.5 feet or 2 metres
Requests to elevate City or Boundary trees over lawns (between tree and house) may be done if requested by resident to a maximum of 3.0 metres.
All work is carried out using good arboricultural practices.
Pruning won’t to be used to improve scenic views; create uninterrupted paths for telecommunication signals; to clear for store signs or security cameras; nor to increase light to swimming pools, solar panels, patios, lawns or gardens.
Sightline obstructions
The City will trim or remove city or boundary tree(s) or vegetation obstructions in sightlines at corner properties. However, the City may contact a property owner to trim or remove obstructions that are encroaching from private property.
If the owner is not able to keep the vegetation trimmed to the permitted height, the City will have the problem vegetation removed entirely to prevent sightline obstructions.
For more information: Sightline obstructions
Agreement for contractors to perform arboricultural services on City property
If, at the owner’s expense, a homeowner wishes to have a contractor perform maintenance on a City-owned or Boundary tree, or plant a tree on City property adjacent to the owner’s property, the owner is required to contact Parks for approval.
Hydro line clearing
Alectra (formerly Guelph Hydro) and Hydro One prune and remove trees along hydro lines on rotational schedules. Contact Alectra and Hydro One for more information about their tree maintenance and vegetation control programs.
Trees along Hanlon Parkway/Highway 6 North
Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO INFO)
416-235-4686 or toll-free at 1-800-268-4686
TTY: 905-704-2426 or 1-866-471-8929
Trees in Wellington County
Wellington County Roads Division
Street Tree Planting Program
We are growing our canopy. New street trees are being planted every year to support the City’s One Canopy strategy. View a map to see where and what type of new tree will be planted. Request a free street tree on City property in front of your home or business.
Help care for street trees
After planting a new street tree, the City will water it regularly for the first two years. After that, we appreciate your help watering street trees once a week using about 10 to 15 litres of water. You can water more often during drought conditions—there are no restrictions for watering trees.
If you like, you can add up to 10 centimetres of mulch to help retain moisture in the soil, prevent weeds and protect the tree stem. Keep mulch at least 10 centimetres away from the stem. Piling mulch around the stem can damage or kill the tree.
Do not prune or stake trees, and please don’t remove any existing stakes. We typically remove them after one growing season.
If you live in a new subdivision and you have a concern about a tree on private property, please contact the builder or developer.