Perth Voice Interactive

BAYSWATER council may take over responsibility for contacting private property owners about their significant trees to try and encourage more nominations onto the City’s register.

Bayswater’s 2022 Private Trees Policy was recently reviewed, but when it came before the May 6 meeting, Cr Elli Petersen-Pik pushed for more changes because he says its currently so restrictive few trees get nominated and none have been accepted.

Cr Petersen-Pik says the loss of trees on private property is the leading cause for the significant decline of tree canopy in the City. 

He hopes to “significantly reduce the ongoing and unnecessary reduction of mature trees on private land, especially by developers”.

Cr Petersen-Pik wants to follow Mandurah’s lead and have the City contact private owners, rather than leaving that up to ratepayers who are forced under the current policy to approach the owners themselves and get written approval before a nomination can be lodged. 

Under the policy, nominated tree need to be of a significant size as well as having an historical importance or a special genetic value, but Cr Petersen-Pik says that’s too restrictive and needs to be reviewed.

The Bayswater Urban Tree Network fundamentally disagrees with private property owners having veto rights over trees on their land.

The network’s online administrator Greg Smith says there’s currently no regulation of tree-killing on private property in the City unless the tree is heritage listed or on the significant tree list.

“There needs to be a conscious decision made rather than developers clearing the land without thought,” he said.

Mr Smith says these policies were written with “significant bureaucratic hurdles and people haven’t decided to overcome those hurdles to get places listed”.

Regulation

He argues regulation of the private use of land for the benefit of the public is fundamental to town planning. 

Mr Smith says all trees proposed to be removed, and any to be planted as part of a development need to be clearly stated in the plans. 

He says developers’ current modus operandi is to simply clear a site before submitting any application.

“The current policy on town planning is reducing Bayswater’s canopy but increasing the urban heat island effect and making a mockery of Bayswater’s ‘Garden City’ motto,” he told the Voice.

by CINDY CARTOJANO