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Burnaby tree survey checklist for your surveyor

What Burnaby’s Tree Bylaw asks the survey to show for a development application, item by item with the bylaw section, so your surveyor gets it right the first time. Download the free PDF and send it with your survey request.

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What the surveyor shows

Built from the Burnaby Tree Bylaw 1996 (Bylaw No. 10482). Last reviewed 14 October 2026.

  1. A survey plan prepared by a B.C. land surveyor showing the legal boundaries and dimensions of the site.Tree Bylaw s.2(v)
  2. The location and diameter of every protected tree on the site, and every protected tree within 2 m of the site boundary, including trees on neighbouring lots and City land.Tree Bylaw s.2(v)
  3. Once any development application is made, every tree with a diameter of 20.3 cm or more counts as protected.Tree Bylaw s.2(o)(i)
  4. Trees protected at any size: covenanted trees, trees in a streamside protection and enhancement area, trees planted under an approved landscaping plan, replacement trees and retained trees.Tree Bylaw s.2(o)(iii) to (viii)
  5. Diameter measured 1.3 m above the ground at the base of the tree. For a tree with several stems, use the sum of the diameters of the three largest stems.Tree Bylaw s.2(i)
  6. For an R1 building permit: a topographical survey that is signed, sealed and no more than 12 months old.R1 building permit intake checklists, revised July 2026

What your arborist adds

Your surveyor doesn’t need to do these. They’re the arborist’s part, built on the survey.

  1. Whether each protected tree is coniferous or deciduous.Tree Bylaw s.2(v)(i)
  2. Which trees are kept and which are proposed for cutting.Tree Bylaw s.2(v)(ii) and (iii)
  3. The location and type of any protected tree cut in the 3 months before the application.Tree Bylaw s.2(v)(iv)
  4. Replacement trees: location, species and size.Tree Bylaw s.2(v)(v)
  5. The location and timing of demolition, excavation, construction or the use of explosives.Tree Bylaw s.2(v)(vi)
  6. For an R1 new build with protected trees on the site or within 2 m of the property line: the arborist report and tree management plan, drawn on the survey.City of Burnaby Building Division, email, 14 October 2026

Good to know before the survey

  • Every development application needs a tree plan: rezoning, subdivision, preliminary plan approval, building permit and demolition permit.Tree Bylaw s.11(1) and s.2(h)
  • Each protected tree or cluster must carry a numbered metal or durable plastic tag before the application is granted. Our tip, not a City rule: tag before the survey, so the surveyor can record the tag numbers.Tree Bylaw s.11(2)(a)
  • The Director can waive the tree plan where the trees can be readily identified from other information.Tree Bylaw s.12(b)
  • No protected trees on an R1 site or within 2 m of the property line? The City accepts a letter saying so with the building permit application, then inspects.City of Burnaby Building Division, email, 14 October 2026

Where the City’s documents differ

  • The bylaw asks for a surveyed tree plan with every development application unless the Director waives it. The R1 intake checklists for additions and alterations (revised July 2026) list a topographical survey only “if applicable”.
  • The bylaw protects trees 20.3 cm “or greater” once a development application is made; the July 2026 development guide says “greater than 8 in (20.3 cm)”. This checklist follows the bylaw.

This checklist is general guidance from the City’s published documents, not legal advice. The City of Burnaby decides what it accepts.

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