New Westminster tree survey checklist for your surveyor

What the surveyor shows

Built from the Tree Protection and Regulation Bylaw No. 7799 and the City’s Urban Forest Management Strategy Technical Guidebook. Last reviewed 14 October 2026.

1. Prepared by a registered British Columbia land surveyor (BCLS), with all dimensions in metric.Bylaw 7799 s.2(bbb); Guidebook s.2.1(1) and (2)
2. The location and diameter at breast height (DBH) of every tree or shrub of any size on City-owned or City-occupied land.Guidebook s.2.1(3)(a)
3. The location and DBH of every tree (not hedges) with a DBH of 20 cm or more, or whose two largest trunks add up to 20 cm or more.Guidebook s.2.1(3)(b)
4. Replacement trees on an earlier tree replacement plan and retained trees on an earlier tree protection plan, and any tree with evidence of nesting by a bird covered by the Wildlife Act.Guidebook s.2.1(3)(c) and (d)
5. Those trees on neighbouring lots and City land when their dripline is within 4 m of the property line, or when their size would need tree protection barriers on the site or at the property line.Guidebook s.2.1(3)(e)
6. The base elevation of every tree.Guidebook s.2.1(4)
7. The location and type of all existing utilities, above and below grade, entering or right next to the site.Guidebook s.2.1(5)
8. Existing and proposed legal description, rights-of-way, easements, property lines, principal and accessory building footprints, walkways, patios, driveways and access, existing grades at the four corners of the site, water, storm and sanitary lines, Hydro, telephone, cable, internet and gas lines, and any service kiosks and boxes.Guidebook s.2.1(6)
9. A title block with north arrow, scale, date, surveyor’s seal and company name, and a legend for the symbols.Guidebook s.2.1(7)
10. Revised plans dated, supplied in hard copy and/or PDF at a scale that stays legible, labels included, when printed at 11 x 17.Guidebook s.2.1(8) and (9)

Good to know before the survey

• The City uses the tree survey as the base for the tree protection plan, so the arborist needs your up-to-date drawings and any proposed grade changes.Guidebook s.2.1 and s.2.3
• Where trees on a neighbouring property must be protected or removed, you need that owner’s consent, and the City checks it during the tree permit process.Guidebook s.1
• Arborist reports are only accepted from an ISA Certified Arborist with Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ), or a BC ITA certified arborist technician, who holds a New Westminster or intermunicipal business licence.Guidebook s.2.2(1) and (7)