Tree Pruning and Inspections

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Home > Services > Residential Services > Parks, Forestry and Horticulture Operations > Forestry Operations > Tree Pruning and Inspections

Tree Pruning and Inspections

The City of Vaughan maintains more than 135,000 City-owned street and park trees across the community. City-owned trees are those on City-owned portion of roadways, in front and at the side of residential lots and City parks.

Tree inspection report

To create a service request to report a tree on municipal property that you suspect is in poor health, contact Access Vaughan at 905-832-2281 or accessvaughan@vaughan.ca.

A Forestry inspector will visit the site within 30 business days to examine the condition of the tree and determine the work to be done. The forestry inspector will leave you a voice message or door knocker with the status of your call.

Why does the City prune trees?

to promote good health
to prevent insects and disease
to remove potential safety hazards
to make vehicle and pedestrian clearances
to reduce storm damage from high winds, snow, and freezing rain
to accommodate streetlights, buildings, and utilities

When and how are trees pruned?

The City prunes trees routinely according to species, age and, in some cases, location and uses different types of pruning:

Crown cleaning is the removal of dead, dying, diseased, crowded, weakly attached and unhealthy branches from the crown of a tree.
Crown thinning is the selective removal of branches to increase light penetration and air movement through the crown. Thinning opens the foliage of a tree, reduces weight on heavy limbs, reduces water intake, and helps retain the tree's natural shape.
Crown clearance is the selective removal of the branches from the tree to provide clearance for buildings, vehicles, pedestrians, streetlights, traffic signals, road, regulatory signage and sight lines. Specification 2.4 metres (8 feet) over a sidewalk and 4.26 metres over a road.
Crown reduction reduces the size of a tree, to make room for utility lines. Reducing the height or spread of a tree is best accomplished by pruning back the leaders and branch terminals to lateral branches that are large enough to assume the terminal roles. This method maintains the form and structural integrity of the tree.
Crown restoration removes damaged limbs to restore an appropriate stable form to the tree. This is often necessary following storm damage.
Crown complete is the holistic pruning of a tree that encompasses, cleaning and clearance.
Crown establishment is the selective pruning of the crown of newly planted trees to promote an aesthetically and structurally sound branching system.

Why does the tree look so different after pruning?

After being pruned, a tree might look rather bare. It will begin to look normal during the next growing season, with a healthier and more attractive form and structure.

Contact Information

Parks, Forestry and Horticulture Operations

Phone: 905-832-2281

Email: parks@vaughan.ca

Location:
Joint Operations Centre
2800 Rutherford Rd.
Vaughan, ON L4K 2N9

Service Vaughan:
Submit and track service requests online, 24/7.

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