Edmonton councillor pushes per‑tree fees on new‑build developers

Ward Papastew councillor Michael Janz is about to put a new idea on the council table: every time a developer chops down a tree for a brand‑new neighbourhood, they would have to pay a set fee for that tree. The motion, which will be debated at the next council meeting, targets only trees lost in green‑field development – the sprawling subdivisions outside the Henday – and not the ones removed in infill projects, which are being tackled in a separate bylaw.

“Right now they build these new communities and the city has to foot the bill for planting trees elsewhere,” Janz told reporters. He pointed to empty downtown lots – the old Toys R Us parking area, for example – that sit idle while developers find it cheaper to push out beyond the city limits. “It’s cheaper for them, but the climate risk ends up on the taxpayer,” he added, a hint of frustration in his voice.

Beyond the obvious aesthetic loss, Janz argues that trees do real work: they suck up carbon dioxide, cool the urban heat‑island effect, and provide habitat. A mature tree can pull about 21 kg of CO₂ a year, yet an average Edmonton household emits roughly 20.7 tonnes. In other words, you’d need close to a thousand trees to offset a single family’s emissions. “Some of these trees are decades old and worth thousands of dollars,” Janz noted. “When we ignore that value, we’re basically subsidising sprawl.”

The city already levies a dollar‑per‑tree assessment when trees are removed from established lots. Extending that logic to new developments could generate millions of dollars, money that could be earmarked for wetland restoration, re‑planting programs or climate‑resilience projects.

Mayor Andrew Knack has also floated a separate motion to require permits for tree removal on existing parcels, responding to growing concerns about infill projects. A 2023 report from the Energy Transition and Climate Resilience Committee found that redeveloping existing sites can cut emissions by 30‑50 % compared with building on untouched land. The council’s challenge now is to balance growth with the value of the trees and ecosystems that make Edmonton livable.