There’s a sound I’ve never been able to ignore in my neighbourhood: the wood chipper. It starts up somewhere down the street and my first thought is always the same. One of the good ones is coming down.
In a place like the Comox Valley, where older streets run under a canopy of Douglas-fir and bigleaf maple, that sound registers differently than it would in a newer subdivision where the trees are still the height of a garden fence. The trees here are part of what people mean when they say they moved for the lifestyle. They filter the light in summer, buffer the wind in November, and add thirty years of character that no landscaping budget can replicate.
Most of the time, the wood chipper is there for a legitimate reason: storm damage, disease, a root system that has finally won its argument with a foundation or a sewer line. Sometimes a tree genuinely has to go, and a neighbourhood of mature trees means that call comes up more than the canopy lets on. Tree management is part of owning property here, and understanding what the rules actually are is useful before you’re standing in the yard trying to figure out whether you need a permit.
The answer depends on where in the valley you are.
Town of Comox
Comox adopted a new Tree Protection Bylaw (No. 2063) in June 2026, and it is the most comprehensive tree regulation in the valley. The bylaw requires a tree permit before damaging, cutting, or removing what it calls a regulated tree, unless a specific exemption applies.
Regulated trees fall into two categories. The first is priority native species (Douglas-fir, Garry oak, arbutus, western red cedar, and others) measuring 20 cm or more in diameter (measured at breast height). The second category covers all other species at 30 cm or more.
Within those categories, a subset are classified as protected: any tree measuring 50 cm or more in diameter, trees on Town-owned land, replacement trees planted under previous approvals, and trees protected through previous development approvals. Protected trees can only be removed under specific circumstances: if they are dead, hazardous, pose a wildfire risk, conflict with approved development, or are causing damage that cannot be avoided. When a regulated tree is removed, replacement planting is required.
Permits are not needed for routine pruning, trees smaller than the regulated thresholds, or emergency removals where a tree poses an immediate risk. But if you are planning any development work, subdivision, or significant clearing on a Comox property, the bylaw applies. More detail and the permit process are at comox.ca/treebylaw.
The goal the Town has set for itself is to increase canopy coverage from roughly 25 per cent today to 30 per cent by 2085. Mayor Nicole Minions described the urban forest as “one of Comox’s most valuable community assets” when the bylaw was adopted. That framing tells you how the Town is going to read permit applications.
City of Courtenay
Courtenay’s tree regulation is established under Bylaw No. 2850. The threshold for requiring a permit is a tree measuring 20 cm or more in diameter, and certain protected species, including Garry oak and Pacific dogwood, require a permit regardless of size.
Permits in Courtenay are approved in limited circumstances, generally where a tree presents a genuine hazard or where removal is necessary to allow development that is already permitted under the property’s zoning. If you’re planning a project that involves tree removal, the right first step is to contact the City’s planning department at planning@courtenay.ca with a summary of the proposal before any work begins.
Village of Cumberland
Cumberland currently has no general tree bylaw for private property, though council has considered one in recent years. The Village instead maintains a Significant Trees list recognizing notable heritage and ecological specimens, including a Sequoia on Dunsmuir Avenue and a Camperdown Elm on Derwent. These trees are documented rather than formally protected, but anyone planning work nearby should confirm with Village planning before proceeding. For updates on the bylaw process, see cumberland.ca/treebylaw.
Denman and Hornby Islands (Islands Trust)
Unlike the municipalities on the mainland side of the valley, Denman and Hornby do not regulate trees through a standalone tree bylaw. Instead, vegetation removal is controlled through Official Community Plans, Development Permit Areas, and Siting and Use Permits under the Islands Trust’s statutory mandate to preserve and protect the islands. In practice, this often means tree removal is reviewed as part of development approvals rather than through a simple permit threshold. If you’re planning clearing or development on either island, contact the Islands Trust Northern Office before beginning work.
CVRD (Comox Valley Regional District)
The CVRD does not have a general tree cutting bylaw for properties in its jurisdiction. However, certain Development Permit Areas, including riparian zones, sensitive ecosystems, and steep slopes, require permits before trees or vegetation can be removed. If a property falls within one of those designated areas, the CVRD’s requirements apply regardless of which municipality is nearby.
What This Means for Property Owners
If you’re buying, selling, or developing in the Comox Valley, the tree situation on a given property is worth mapping before you start. That means knowing which municipality the property is in, what trees are on it and roughly what size they are, and whether any fall within a Development Permit Area or have been flagged through a previous development approval.
For sellers, a large protected tree on a lot that is otherwise buildable is a relevant disclosure item. A buyer planning to develop needs to know whether a permit is required and what replacement planting would be required if removal is approved. If that’s not in the conversation before an offer goes in, it tends to surface at an inconvenient moment.
For buyers, a property in Comox with several mature Douglas-firs that you’re planning to clear for a new build is not the straightforward project it might have been before June 2026. The trees are part of the regulatory picture now, and the permit process is a timeline consideration alongside your building permit and DCC calculations.
None of this makes trees the enemy of development. Most tree permits are routine. But across the Comox Valley, the direction is consistent: more protection, more documentation, and more replacement planting. Understanding those rules before you buy, sell, or start a project can save both time and expensive surprises.
The wood chipper is still going to show up. There’s just more paperwork involved now.
Tree bylaw details current to June 2026. Regulations change; confirm requirements with the relevant municipality before any tree removal or ground disturbance. This post does not constitute legal or regulatory advice.