What can I do with trees on my property?

At the office, we often receive questions concerning trees on and near your property. Here are some of the most common questions we are asked.

Can I plant a tree at my home?
There is no restriction on planting trees on private property, though residents are advised that once planted, removal of trees may be subject to permits as noted below.

You may not plant trees on city property (ie. the boulevard section, the section of grass closest to the road). You may, however, request that the City plant a tree on your boulevard. An application form with photographs of the 36 tree varieties available can be found here on the City site (link), or you may call 416-338-TREE (8733) to request a tree.

Can I prune/cut down a tree on on private property?
You are allowed to prune a tree as long as it does not cause the tree's death. If you'd like to destroy a tree which measure more than 95cm (38 inches) in circumference at the height of 1.4m (3 feet), you must apply for a permit from the City of Toronto (link). Exceptions may be made if the tree is in danger of causing damage, is terminally diseased, or is already dead. Trees smaller than described above may be removed without a permit. See the city's page on privately owned trees for more information (link).

The tree on my boulevard is damaged, what can I do?
If the tree a tree on city-owned property is damaged or diseased, or you're worried about a tree limb falling off of it, don't hesitate to call our office at 416-392-1374. We will help set up an inspection by the Toronto Urban Forestry Division, and action will be scheduled based on priority. You can also contact Urban Forestry directly at 416-338-TREE (8733).

Why hasn't the tree on my boulevard been pruned yet?
The regular pruning schedule for city-owned trees goes on a cycle of approximately two years, and in this time, trees can grow quite a bit. If the tree is obstructing the view of traffic or the glow of streetlights, you can request a pruning from Urban Forestry or through our office. Note that the tree will be inspected first before it is trimmed, and each of these processes may take up to eight to twelve weeks.

Useful links:
City of Toronto: Urban Forestry Services
Let Us Plant A Tree (boulevard tree info/request form)
Application to injure or destroy trees on private property
Full list of tree by-laws (Chapter 813)

Toronto's $2.8-billion Doomsday Clock is ticking (The Globe and Mail)

Reprinted from The Globe and Mail, October 3rd, 2009:

“Councillor Mike Del Grande, an accountant by training, calls [the city's benefit liability] a 'ticking time-bomb.' He argues that while everyone gets excited about the mayor and the $200-million, they are missing the real story: The city’s failure to grapple with its soaring liabilities.”

Read more...

How do I replace a damaged Blue/Green/Garbage Bin?

Some residents may have missed their chance to exchange their city waste collection bins at Community Environment Day this weekend, but there's no need to worry about; there are still a variety of options to replace a broken Green, Blue or Garbage Bin.

The easiest way is to give a telephone call to the City service line at 311. There you can speak with an operator, who will help you set up a Blue/Garbage Bin exchange appointment. Bin appointments generally fall on the same day as your scheduled pick up. Just leave your broken bin out on specified date, and City Staff will come to exchange it for you with a new one free of charge.

If you have a damaged Green Bin or simply can't wait for an appointment date, you may also bring your broken bin to one of several pick-up locations throughout Toronto. These sites are listed on the back of your Collection Calendar, which you should be receiving in the mail in the coming weeks. The closest one to Ward 39 is the Scarborough Transfer Station, at 1 Transfer Place (off of Nugget Avenue just west of Markham Road). Note that bin exchange is not available at the Victoria Park Transfer Station.

Finally, if you would like an additional Green Bin, you can request one at the above locations (fees may apply). Up-sized or additional Blue Bins may also be ordered free of charge through the 311 line. Up-sizing of Garbage Bins is also available, but yearly fees may apply.

If you are experiencing any difficulties with the above and live in Ward 39, feel free to give our office a call at 416-392-1374, and we can help with arranging for a new bin. If you live outside of Ward 39, please call 311 and they will be able to provide you with more information.

Useful links:
Where to get your collection containers

Latest draft of Finch Warden Area Study - Sept 14, 2009

The latest draft of the Finch Warden Area Study can now be found here on our website. The area study is a response to the Malibu Group's proposal to build condominium highrises over Bridlewood Mall, and details an overarching plan for the Bridlewood site as well as the area around it. The report emphasizes a balance of infrastructure support and new housing, as well as beautification and revitalization; and will be presented at a community meeting early October. For more information, visit our page on the Bridlewood project, or the Stand Up Bridletowne! citizen group.

Bicycle Safety (reprinted from newsletter volume 2, issue 1)

Bicycle collisions remain one of the leading causes of danger in our ward, and one of the most preventable. The city of Toronto has an extensive list of laws pertaining to bicycles, and by following them you will not only avoid hefty fines, but you could save lives too. We've taken the time to outline some of these laws previously in our newsletter, which we've reprinted here. A full list of laws and fines can be found here.
(From Volume 2, Issue 1 of our newsletter, which you can find online here, other newsletters can be found in our newsletter archive)

Bicycle safety – or rather, pedestrian safety around bicycles – is a serious concern. I receive numerous calls from people, particularly seniors, who feel very uncomfortable walking in the Ward because of bicycle traffic on our sidewalks.

A bicycle is considered a vehicle under the Provincial Highway Traffic Act. The City also has a by-law that forbids cycling on the sidewalk if your wheels are larger than 24 inches in diameter. A number of noteworthy violations and set fines listed in the Act are:

• Careless driving $ 265
• Disobey stop sign – fail to stop $ 90
• Failure to yield to pedestrian $ 90
• No bell (horn) $ 90

The plain truth is: enforcement is difficult. Cyclists should know that they are liable and can be sued when collisions happen and they are at fault. I would ask everyone who rides a bicycle in our community to respect pedestrians and their right to use the sidewalk in comfort. When riding on local streets, cyclists should ride on the road. When riding along our arterial roads, cyclists riding on the sidewalk should go slowly, use their bell or horn to warn pedestrians and remember to share the sidewalk. At intersections, cyclists should always walk across the road.

As with any accident, if a pedestrian is hit by a bicycle, they should call the Police immediately and report the incident.

'Smarten up' on bike safety: police (The National Post)

Reprinted from The National Post, August 11th, 2009:

"Police say Torontonians need a refresher on bicycle safety after three accidents in the last week left one person dead and two more with life threatening injuries"

Read more...

No charges in fatal bike accident (The Toronto Sun)

Reprinted from The Toronto Sun, August 11th, 2009:

"It was only a matter of time before somebody on a sidewalk would be killed by a speedy cyclist. It's up to us if we want to stop there being more."

Read more...

Toronto on strike: Council approves deal with both unions to end strike (The National Post)

Reprinted from The National Post Blog, July 31st, 2009:

"Councillor Mike Del Grande (Scarborough Agincourt) said he got 500 emails from angry constituents saying vote no.

'I have to represent them,' he said."

See full article for a list of how councillors voted.
Read more...

Councillors to vote on CUPE settlement this Friday

Update from Councillor Del Grande:
I received over 500 e-mail responses and also from door knocking feedback. The vast majority told me to vote NO.

As I represent the majority's desire I did as you instructed me to do.

Dear Neighbour:
Based on recent Media Reports:
1) What are your views on the City settlement between the Mayor and the Unions?
2) Would you entertain more taxes and costs to all Toronto residents to pay for this settlement?
I look forward to your reply by July 30th as Council will be voting on the settlement on July 31st.

Thank you.

Mike Del Grande
Councillor - Ward 39 - Scarborough-Agincourt
City of Toronto
councillor_delgrande@toronto.ca

Pending ratification by CUPE members, council will be meeting this Friday, July 31st, to vote on the labour deal which was reached on Monday. The councillor would like to know your opinion, so please take your time to leave your comments under this post.

City reaches tentative deal with CUPE local 416

As of 8:30 this morning, the City of Toronto and CUPE local 416 reached a tentative agreement. The city has withheld details of this agreement until negotiations with CUPE local 79 end, but CUPE representatives have stated that they have not backed down on concessions which the City recommended. The strike will continue until a deal is reached with local 79, and it is estimated that work could resume by Wednesday.

We'll keep you posted as to the details of the negotations as we hear them, please stayed tuned for further updates

Bridlewood Mall Open Meeting

The councillor hosted an open forum meeting today at L'Amoreaux Collegiate Institute concerning the status of the Bridlewood Mall redevelopment project. Our office has been in touch with the working group and the city planners over the past months, and wanted to share with you some of the details concerning the developer's revised site plans.

• The tallest building has been reduced from 38 storeys to 33 storeys
• One other building has been reduced from 33 storeys to 29 storeys
• 1370 units have been reduced to 1275, a reduction of only 95 units
• 1495 underground parking spaces will be available, with approximately one allotted to each unit
• 9,000 square feet and $1 million have been offered towards a library, which is not enough (15,000 square feet is the minimum)
• The main entrance will face the intersection of Warden and Finch diagonally
• A new entrance will face the street on Finch

The public opinion was that both the height and density of these buildings continue to be too high. In addition, there were some grave concerns that the stability of the local infrastructure is being overestimated by the city planners. Comparisons were drawn to the Markington project, at Markham Road and Eglinton, in which the number of units was reduced by over 25% before it went to council.

The councillor reminded the people that the decision is not in his hands, but rather that of the city planners, and encouraged people to visit both his own website and Stand Up Bridletowne, and to contact Renrick Ashby, the city planner in charge of the project, to voice their opinion.

Mike and Franco on WOW TV

The Councillor has appeared with his Special Assistant Franco on WOW TV, to introduce himself and talk about what we here at the office do. Amongst issues discussed include widened driveways, animal control, and signing authority. For those of you who couldn't catch it, the video has been graciously uploaded on Youtube. We've included a translation below, so that everyone can follow along. In case you missed last month's episode, it can be found here. There's a chance that this may be expanded into a regular segment, so stay tuned for more information!


Italicized portions are in Cantonese
Numbers denote the two interviewers, M is Mike Del Grande, and F is Franco Ng

1: As you saw, there were many guests there at Shanghai, but here in Toronto, we have a pair of guests too
2: That's right, and this is a very special guest; the councillor for our Scarborough ward, Ward 39, Mike Del Grande and his Special Assistant, special assistant Franco Ng. Good morning
1: Good morning
F: Good morning
M: Good morning, I'm very glad to be on WOW TV
1: Thank you
2: Oh, thank you so much. His Chinese is pretty good, Franco, did you teach him?
F: Well he knows some himself, he always has to learn
2: He's very good.
1: I guess he has to speak to Chinese people often
F: Of course, of course. Perhaps the Councillor would like to introduce himself
2: Mike, would you like to introduce yourself? Tell us a little bit about yourself.
M: Well, I live here in the Ward, I've lived here since 1983. I'm of Italian background, son of immigrants like many of our community residents. And I was first elected 2003 as the councillor for Ward 39, Scarborough-Agincourt.
2: Okay
1: So the Agincourt area, huh

2: So, Franco, what kind of issues do us constituents have? Right now, at least, what are the big issues?
F: Last time we spoke about grass cutting issues. After that episode, turns out that a lot of people had really long grass and weren't cutting it, we got a lot of calls in about that. This time, since summer's coming, we know a lot of people are redoing their front lawns and driveways. So today we wanted to let everyone know most of the time, you can't expand your driveway past certain limits. To put it simply, if you have a double garage, a double garage, your driveway can only be as wide as a double garage.
1: Well I know that some people want to park another car on the corner on purpose
F: Yeah
1: So is that not allowed?
F: Actually, those are illegal
1: You have to get a permit?
F: No, you can't even get a permit
2: So it's not allowed at all
F: This is because the city government wants more grass, meaning there's a green space requirement. So that means you can't turn it into sidewalk, or asphalt, or use it to park a car. In summer there's a lot of people just digging up their lawn and putting rocks, stone, or gravel in; you actually can't do any of that.
1: That means you're not supposed to do that sort of landscaping yourself
F: Yes
1: So the lawn is supposed to have grass, right.
F: That's right. Even if you hire a company to do it, it's still not allowed. We hope that everyone understands this city by-law
1: Oh, but what about if we didn't know before, and we already widened the driveway? Do we have to rip it up?
F: If it's already done and you didn't know, we have some modification you can do. We don't want people parking on the widened driveway, so what we can do is put some stones or planters there to separate it. That way if you have a double driveway, you can only park two cars, horizontally. A piece of wood, or some stones to fence it off show that you can't park there will be fine. When our inspectors comes to check, if they know you have no intention to park there, it'll be okay.
1: So if I show that I have no intention of parking there by fencing it off, it's okay?
F: That's right
1: Oh good, I can relax. Because I already paid for a widened driveway, but I didn't know
2: (laughs) Often we don't know
F: Well often even if it's done, there's no need to dig it up. It all depends on the reasoning.

1: We often hear that residents, like for instance those living here in Ward 39, can ask the councillor for help. What kind of things can we ask for help for?
F: Perhaps we'll let the councillor answer that one, is that alright?
1: Of course
F: What are some services we provide to the public?
M: Well, I'm a Commissioner of Oaths, so I can sign name changes, no charge; sometimes to verify documents from the original to copies, I can sign that for our community, no charge. If you go to professionals, they will charge anywhere from twenty dollars to sixty dollars. I'm free.
2: (laughs) That's good to know
M: We also provide information as I'm sure Franco's indicated, if people aren't sure on rules and regulations, they can call our office and Franco will speak to them in their language. We speak in our office Italian, Cantonese, Mandarin, we speak German, we also speak French, and we also speak some dialects from the Indian subcontinent. So we have a wide array of languages we can speak.
1: So in general, if residents have any big or small issues with the ward, or want clarifications on laws, we can call your office and ask? And as Mike mentioned, change names
F: Yes, because changing names requires signing documents. Outside of our ward, any councillor can also sign for their ward.
1: (laughs) So it's free, No charge. Right?
M: No charge.
2: (laughs) that's the most important thing
M: Sometimes I'll even come to your house to do it, instead of meeting with you. So if you're one of my residents, that's a service we offer
1: I see

2: So Franco, are there any other things that people might not know? I mean, I don't really know what kinds of issues there are. Would you like to speak about what residents can contact you about?
F: Well, one of the other issues is in your neighbour doesn't take care of their front or back yard, and just throws junk everywhere. Well there's laws about that. Sometimes we get residents calling saying that there's rats or raccoons running around in their backyard. Or perhaps people raising dogs or cats are letting them defecate on the sidewalk
1: And not picking it up, right?
F: Yes, or even leaving it around in their back yard.
2: It's not sanitary.
F: And after a while, you can smell it. So residents can call us, because it's summer, and you want to go out to your back yard and enjoy yourself, barbeque, or do other things, and enjoy summer. If your neighbours aren't being considerate, let us know, and we'll give you suggestions on what to do.
2: Can you tell us quickly then, because we're running out of time, what the boundaries of Ward 39 are? From where to where?
F: To put it simply, from Steeles, from that mall- can I say the name?
2: Of course, of course
F: The Splendid China Tower area down to Sheppard. On the east from Kennedy to Victoria Park on the west

1: Well, we hope that in the future, we can invite Franco and Mike to speak with us again regarding things that your office does. Thank you.
2: Thanks everyone. Thank you very much, Mike.
M: Thank you

Heathwood area graffiti cleanup

The Heathwood Ratepayers Association has organized an ambitious graffiti cleanup project, and over a dozen volunteers helped do their part, including the Councillor and his staff. The back yard fences of homes facing Kennedy from Passmore up to Steeles were completely repainted, and currently look beautiful.

Councillor's assistant on WOW TV

Our office's own Franco Ng visited WOW TV today to discuss the councillor's office and some of the issues which affect our ward.

If you missed your chance to watch him live, someone has graciously uploaded the clip onto Youtube, and we've translated the interview for our English-speaking readers:

Numbers denote the two WOW TV interviewers, F is Franco Ng

1: Wow, we really have to say thank you to today's guest. Without him and his boss, we might not have been able to pull May 9th off.
2: That's right
1: The reason being that May 9th was our grand opening, and our television station is in an area called Ward 39 - wait, I hope that's right - that's right.
2: (laughs)
1: But you know that the city is divided into Wards, and our station is at Ward 39, and its councillor, Mike Del Grande has helped us out from the beginning with laws and regulations and other things. Right up to May 9th, where as you know there were a lot of people coming in but not enough parking. What could we do?
2: Who took care of that?
1: So then we have here Toronto's Jet Li
2: (Laughs)
1: Actually we have right here Mike Del Grande's special assistant, Franco. Welcome
2: Good morning Franco
1: So this is his special assistant. First off let me thank you for coming in
2: Thank you so much
1: Let's start by, telling us where Ward 39 is exactly
F: First off, thank you for inviting me here to WOW TV. We were here for the opening, and it was very successful, lots of people. We were very happy that there was such an event right here in Ward 39. Ward 39 is in the Toronto area of Scarborough's northwest end. It goes north to Steeles, and south to about Sheppard. There's two big malls: Bamburgh Circle with the supermarket; and Bridlewood Mall, a sort of older mall that also has a couple of supermarkets. That's our jurisdiction, and what's inside our ward.
1: So let me step back and talk about how we knokw each other. We've had to consult with Franco about a lot of things, from big things like not having enough parking, to little things like single trees. So tell us a little bit about your jurisdiction.
F: So what your viewers can see behind me, the trees and sidewalks; they're all covered under municipal government's jurisdiction. So we deal with issues regarding those. So for instance potholes in the street; if you want to get them filled up, you can give us a call.
1: Folks, listen closely, Franco's going to give us his phone number, his email
F: Please don't call too much!
2: (laughs)
1: Well, they could be calling to compliment you!
2: (laughs) It might not always be a problem
1: So why don't you tell us, what our councillor, I mean this time we're talking to you, but next time we might invite your boss up to the show too, what his objective for being on this program is?
F: First and foremost we want to talk to your viewers about issues in the Chinese community, and how we can help the Chinese community. Because often, what we hear from people is "Huh? I didn't know you guys took care of that, I can call you about snow removal stuff? You guys take care of that?". So we want to share with everyone information like when to take out the trash, or what can be recycled, that sorta thing; that's just one of the many things the city does. So we just hope we can share that sort of thing with everyone
1: Just to sort of report in, right?
F: And it's lots of other things too
1: Would you like share some of those with us?
2: Like what are some of the big and small issues that you have?
1: What can you talk about with us this time?
F: Well, this time, I can talk about, for instance, the TTC. A lot of people call and ask "Why is it so expensive? Why are they raising fare prices?" The TTC is a branch of the municipal government. Other times people call and tell us a bus is late, or "the driver got out to get a coffee and I've been sitting here for fifteen minutes", so I'll tell the constituent "Make sure you remember the four digits on the bus, and what time and day it is, and what's going on. Make a record of it and call us back."
1: Like "Oh, he had three cups!"
2: (laughs)
F: Yeah, or like "He stopped to talk to a friend on the street", and give us a call, and we'll follow up on it. That's a minor issue. A bigger one would be, for instance, if the busses can't follow a schedule. If they're late-
1: It makes us citizens late, you know
F: And sometimes it's very strange, three busses will be in a row. Make sure you get down those numbers, and give us a call; we'll talk to the TTC about it. That's one of the things that we can do.
1: So let's take another example. Summer's coming up, so what kind of concerns do your constituents normally have?
F: Grass cutting
1: Oh, how does that affect you guys?
2: Really? Grass cutting?
F: That's because the city has a regulation, the grass can only be six inches tall. Now if you don't cut it, someone might report you. Your neighbours, some of them might take really good care of their front yards, got gardens and everything. They might say "Hey, our neighbour hasn't cut their grass, it's May now and the grass is this long"; and they would call us. So we'd have city workers whose jobs are to-
1: Warn them?
F: That's it, give them a warning, knock on their door. "Hey, someone's filed a complaint about you, we won't tell you who, and you need to cut your grass in a week, and if you don't you might get a fine".
2: Oh you can get a fine?
F: Yes, it's a city by-law, so you can get fined.
1: Now for instance, how about when people block the road by parking?
F: That's also us
1: Wow! You do everything, don't you
2: You guys really do a lot!
F: (Laughs) So that might be with the police, with Parking Enforcement, who's in charge of ticketing. I get tickets all the time myself
2: (Laughs)
1: Even as a city official?
F: I still have to pay. If you're parked illegally, or if you don't pay the meter. But in Toronto, you can only park on the street for a maximum of three hours. It's because in the winter there's snow plows, and in the summer, you might block people backing out. So this is the sort of thing we'd help report to the police.
1: We only have about a minute left. We'll speak to you in the future, but can you say a bit about Mike Del Grande?
F: This is the community newsletter that's distributed to the ward about Mike Del Grande. Inside there's also Chinese
1: Did you have a hand in that?
F: I translated it
2: Wow! We definitely have to support this then
F: The English and Chinese sections are pretty similar, and there's lots of photos and such
1: So how often does this newsletter get printed?
F: Twice a year, and a lot of councillors do this sort of thing. This other one I'll go over quickly is put out by the mayor
1: So the words of the mayor
F: Yes, and you can pick them up at the Civic Centres or City Hall
1: To finish up, let's give everyone your number, if anyone has any problems they can reach you, Franco
F: 416-392-1374
1: And if there's anything to report, you can also be emailed at fng2@toronto.ca?
F: Yes, that's my email
1: So with that, thank you very much Franco
2: Thank you
F: Thank you

WOW TV Grand Opening

Ward 39 celebrated the grand opening of a brand new specialty channel, and the councillor was there to welcome them.

You can see and watch the festivities for yourself at WOW TV's official website, under "Day Show".