Keremeos tree removal rules and permits
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.
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.Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 850 (PDF, consolidated), s. 21.1; Building permit requirements · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingAt 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 Watercourse Development Permit if the development is within 30m of the high water mark |
|---|---|
| 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.Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 850 (PDF, consolidated), s. 21.1 Exemptions · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingThe 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, |
| 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.Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 803, 2013, Schedule 11 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingDestruction of boulevard trees $1000.00 per tree |
| Fine | $1,000 per tree for destroying boulevard trees (Street and Traffic Bylaw s. 49). No ticket amount was found for cutting private trees.Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 803, 2013, Schedule 11 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingDestruction of boulevard trees $1000.00 per tree |
| Bylaw | Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 850 (Watercourse Development Permit Area, s. 21.1); Street and Traffic Bylaw No. 827, 2017 (boulevard trees)Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 850 (PDF, consolidated), s. 21.1; Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 803, 2013, Schedule 11 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08Official wordingVillage of Keremeos OCP Bylaw No. 850 Watercourse Development Permit Area STREET AND TRAFFIC BYLAW 827, 2017 |
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 (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
- Check whether your tree is within 30 m of a watercourse.
- If it is, call the Village Office before cutting.
- 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. 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
The same question in other places
Oliver · Osoyoos · Penticton · Summerland · Princeton · Peachland
Sources
- Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 850 (PDF, consolidated), Village of Keremeos (read 2026-11-08)
- Building permit requirements (PDF), Village of Keremeos (read 2026-11-08)
- Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 803, 2013 (PDF), Village of Keremeos (read 2026-11-08)
- Contact, Village of Keremeos (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. How answers are checked.