Urban Forest Strategy

In early 2018, Sidney completed a Parks Master Plan. One of the objectives identified was the creation of an Urban Forest Strategy (UFS) to address the long-term management of trees on both public and private land in Sidney. Beginning June 2018, Town staff worked with consultant Barefoot Planning to develop a UFS that provides a clear vision and objectives for the future management of Sidney's urban forest.

Council received the Town's Urban Forest Strategy on June 24, 2019 and have directed staff to analyze the action items from the strategy and bring forward potential projects for consideration as part of the annual fall strategic planning and subsequent budget process.

Town of Sidney Urban Forest Strategy

Click here or on the image below to review the Town's UFS.

Scope of the UFS

The UFS is intended to provide guidance for how Sidney's urban treescape is managed. Specifically, the scope of the project was as follows:

• Assess the existing tree canopy cover and set goals for future tree canopy coverage
• Address the long-term health, distribution and preservation of trees in the Town, including potential changes to bylaws/policies
• Review the existing policy and regulatory mechanisms for identifying and preserving significant treed areas
• Identify areas to potentially expand the urban tree canopy coverage (e.g. parks) and make related recommendations
• Create boulevard tree policies that inform the enhancement, replacement and expansion of urban street trees in the Town

Public Consultation Process

The project involved two online surveys and two public consultation events, each of which were followed by a detailed review by Town staff and further refinement of the UFS draft.

• Online Survey: February 6 - 27, 2019 
• Public Open House: February 6, 2019 
• Public Open House: October 4, 2018
• Online Survey: October 5 - November 2, 2018

Additional Information

More information about the development of the UFS and next steps can be found in the June 11, 2019 UFS Staff Report.

Contact Information

Engineering:
250-656-4502
engineeringservices@sidney.ca