City denies request to cut down old tree
[attach]2055[/attach]An old tree at 12 Aldershot Cres. will live another day now that the city has denied the property’s owner permission to remove it.
Community council voted unanimously not to allow the tree’s owner, Hamid Sadremajles, to remove an old silver maple in order to accommodate a swimming pool on the property, located near Yonge Street and York Mills Road.
“I think the whole neighbourhood enjoys (the tree),” said Brad Teichman, a next-door neighbour who lobbied for the silver maple to be saved. “There’s room to put up a good house without knocking down any trees.”
Sadremajles originally bought the property with the idea of subdividing the lot. However, that idea was previously quashed at the Ontario Municipal Board. Looking to instead develop the lot as a one-home property, he obtained a building permit that would have put a swimming pool where a large silver maple tree currently stands.
He placed a mandatory sign on the property notifying area residents of his intentions.
That set off a storm of protest from neighbours. Still upset at the attempt to subdivide the property, they said the tree, along with two other silver maples nearby, added important aesthetic value to the neighbourhood.
Teichman pointed out the tree is just a few feet away from the property line, allowing ample space to build.
For his part, Sadremajles said he feels the city has dealt unfairly with him as a property owner.
“It’s all politics,” Sadremajles said. “I’ve had a permit for a house and a swimming pool since February 15 and I offered to plant another eight mature trees.”
But both the city and area rep Cliff Jenkins denied Sadremajles had been treated unfairly and said he was subject to the same process as anyone else.
“We do look at the tree’s health, its structural integrity and the reasons the applicant wants to remove it,” said Dean Hart, manager of forestry operations.
Jenkins echoed that idea.
“It is a beautiful tree and it’s a real asset to the neighbourhood,” he said. “We had the two closest immediate neighbours come and depute on it and that doesn’t often happen … I think the reason council voted that way was that the fellow had tons of room on the property to redevelop.”
But Sadremajles said his only alternative may now be to cut down smaller trees elsewhere on the property.
Although the city’s private tree bylaw requires property owners to get permission before cutting down large private trees, the rule exempts trees less than 30 centimetres in diameter.
“(The city) has given me the green light to take down eight (smaller) trees, but I would like to save those trees in the back. They provide privacy for me and the other neighbours,” Sadremajles said. He added that he’d continue to work with his architect to try and find a way to avoid destroying the undersized trees.