---
title: Keremeos tree removal rules and permits
question: "Do I need permission to cut down a tree on my property in Keremeos?"
place: Keremeos, British Columbia, Canada
place_path: ca/bc/keremeos
category: Building, renovating and your property
owner: municipal
owner_body: Village of Keremeos
sources_read: 2026-11-08
review: machine_checked
canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/keremeos/tree-removal/"
json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/keremeos/tree-removal.json"
---

# Keremeos tree removal rules and permits

**Question:** Do I need permission to cut down a tree on my property in Keremeos?

**Short answer:** Keremeos has no general tree-protection bylaw listed in its bylaw library, so cutting a tree on your own lot usually needs no Village permit. Near a watercourse a development permit may be needed, and destroying a boulevard tree can bring a $1,000 ticket.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (Village of Keremeos, https://www.keremeos.ca/home)  
**Cost:** No permit fee is stated in the sources we could read.  
**How long:** Not stated.  
**Where:**
- In person: Village Office, 702 4th Street, Keremeos, BC V0X 1N0 (Monday to Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. per the contact page.)
- Phone: Village Office, 250-499-2711
- Email: Village Office, info@keremeos.ca

## Key facts

- **When a permit is needed:** The Village library lists no general tree protection bylaw. In the Watercourse Development Permit Area (OCP Schedule F), a development permit is required for residential, commercial or industrial development, which includes removing vegetation. The Village also asks for a Watercourse Development Permit if development is within 30 m of the high water mark of a watercourse.
  - Source: [Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 850 (PDF, consolidated), s. 21.1](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/15674/)
  - Official wording: "At present, only a Watercourse Development Permit Area has been identified at Schedule ‘F’ of" … "alteration of the land, including grading, removal of vegetation, deposit or moving"
  - Source: [Building permit requirements](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/7570/)
  - Official wording: "Watercourse Development Permit if the development is within 30m of the high water mark"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Exemptions:** In the Watercourse DPA: trees designated hazardous by a qualified professional; removal of infested, diseased or hazardous trees following the provincial guideline and a report by a QEP or arborist; and gardening and minor pruning within an existing landscaped area.
  - Source: [Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 850 (PDF, consolidated), s. 21.1 Exemptions](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/15674/)
  - Official wording: "The activity is limited to the environmentally sensitive removal of trees and shrubs" … "Activities such as gardening and yard maintenance activities within an existing" … "landscaped area, such as mowed lawns, minor pruning of trees and shrubs,"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Fee:** Not confirmed. The Village's Fees & Charges Bylaw is a scanned image that could not be read.
- **Replacement trees:** Not confirmed. Not found in the official sources that were read.
- **City trees:** Destroying boulevard trees is an offence under the Street and Traffic Bylaw No. 827 (s. 49), with a $1,000 per tree ticket. The bylaw text is a scan, so permit rules for Village trees are not readable.
  - Source: [Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 803, 2013, Schedule 11](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/14895/)
  - Official wording: "Destruction of boulevard trees" … "$1000.00 per tree"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Fine:** $1,000 per tree for destroying boulevard trees (Street and Traffic Bylaw s. 49). No ticket amount was found for cutting private trees.
  - Source: [Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 803, 2013, Schedule 11](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/14895/)
  - Official wording: "Destruction of boulevard trees" … "$1000.00 per tree"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08
- **Bylaw:** Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 850 (Watercourse Development Permit Area, s. 21.1); Street and Traffic Bylaw No. 827, 2017 (boulevard trees)
  - Source: [Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 850 (PDF, consolidated), s. 21.1](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/15674/)
  - Official wording: "Village of Keremeos OCP Bylaw No. 850" … "Watercourse Development Permit Area"
  - Source: [Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 803, 2013, Schedule 11](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/14895/)
  - Official wording: "STREET AND TRAFFIC BYLAW 827, 2017"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08

## How it works

The Village's bylaw library lists no general tree protection bylaw. The exception found is the Watercourse Development Permit Area in the [Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 850](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/15674/) (s. 21.1). There, a development permit is required for residential, commercial or industrial development, which includes removing vegetation. The Village also asks for a Watercourse Development Permit if development is within 30 m of the high water mark of a watercourse.

## Steps

1. Check whether your tree is within 30 m of a watercourse.
2. If it is, call the Village Office before cutting.
3. For a tree on the boulevard (the Village's land beside the road), do not cut it. Call the Village Office first.

## Good to know

- In the Watercourse area, exempt work includes trees designated hazardous by a qualified professional, removal of infested, diseased or hazardous trees following the provincial guideline and a report by a qualified environmental professional or arborist, and gardening and minor pruning within an existing landscaped area.
- Destroying boulevard trees is an offence under the Street and Traffic Bylaw No. 827 (s. 49), with a $1,000 per tree ticket under the [Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 803](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/14895/). That bylaw is a scan, so the permit rules for Village trees are not readable here.
- No ticket amount was found for cutting private trees, and no replacement-tree rule was found.
- Trees overgrowing property lines are a civil matter between owners, per the Village page.

## Official forms and pages

- [Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 850 (PDF)](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/15674/)
- [Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 803, 2013 (PDF), Village of Keremeos](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/14895/)

## Related questions

- [Keremeos zoning: find your zone and what it allows](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/keremeos/zoning-lookup.md)
- [Keremeos building permits: when you need one and how to apply](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/keremeos/building-permit.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Tree removal permits in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/tree-removal.md)
- [Oliver](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/oliver/tree-removal.md)
- [Osoyoos](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/osoyoos/tree-removal.md)
- [Penticton](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/penticton/tree-removal.md)
- [Summerland](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/summerland/tree-removal.md)
- [Princeton](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/princeton/tree-removal.md)
- [Peachland](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/peachland/tree-removal.md)

## Sources

- [Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 850 (PDF, consolidated), Village of Keremeos](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/15674/) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Building permit requirements (PDF), Village of Keremeos](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/7570/) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 803, 2013 (PDF), Village of Keremeos](https://keremeos.civicweb.net/document/14895/) (read 2026-11-08)
- [Contact, Village of Keremeos](https://www.keremeos.ca/contact) (read 2026-11-08)

_Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 5 of 7 facts was matched to the official text; 2 could not be confirmed. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with Village of Keremeos. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/keremeos/tree-removal/_