Growing Oakville's Canopy

The Town has set a goal of achieving 40% tree canopy coverage. However, there has been no reported update on the Town’s tree canopy since 2018, when coverage was measured at just 27.8%.

The Town should take meaningful, measurable steps to protect and expand our urban forest, including:

• Report regularly on tree canopy coverage, including progress toward the 40% target and the status of recommendations identified in the Urban Forest Strategic Management Plan and Growing Livability – A Comprehensive Study of Oakville’s Urban Forest.

• Protect and strengthen Oakville’s natural heritage system by preserving existing trees and natural areas.

• Increase opportunities for tree growth across all land-use zones, ensuring trees have adequate soil volume, space, and ongoing maintenance to reach their potential mature size.

• Improve tree planting standards by requiring optimal spacing and sufficient soil volume to support healthy, long-term growth.

• Update parking lot standards to provide greater soil volumes and encourage enhanced rooting environments that support healthy, mature trees.

• Require new residential developments to provide sufficient landscaped areas to support a minimum 30% tree canopy coverage at maturity, helping ensure that new neighbourhoods contribute to the Town’s overall 40% canopy goal.

Oakville should not simply set a tree-canopy target, we should measure our progress, protect the trees we have, and ensure that new development helps us reach that goal.