KITCHENER — If you want to cut down a tree or change the grading on a larger property in the city, you’ll now need a $100 permit first or risk a seriously hefty fine.

Councillors passed two new bylaws this week aimed at protecting the area’s environmental landscape — one that keeps tabs on trees and another that watches changes such as filling, compacting or grading on properties.

The bylaws only apply to properties larger than one acre.

“We’re protecting those properties that would most likely have the greater environmental significance with features that need protection,” said Carrie Musselman, the city’s senior environmental planner. “It’s not that tree removal isn’t going to happen, we just want to make sure it happens in an orderly way.”

The tree conservation bylaw requires anyone who wants to remove a healthy, mature tree to apply to the city and pay $100 for a permit. Anyone caught cutting down a tree without a permit could face fines ranging from $25,000 to $100,000.

It’s a “middle of the pack” solution that lets the city keep tabs on what’s happening on larger lots, said Musselman.

In Toronto, the city regulates the removal of trees 30 centimetres or larger on all private property. The Region of Waterloo already has a Woodland Protection bylaw that protects against tree cutting in forested areas over two acres, as long as it’s not for personal use.

The aim of the city’s new bylaw was to strike a local balance between environmental protection and the rights of property owners, said Musselman.

“We’re not looking to regulate each individual tree on a smaller property,” she said. “Everything has some environmental significance, even a single tree, but overall we’re looking for the larger connected features.”

Any trees that are dead, diseased, hazardous, damaged by storms or are less than 10 centimetres in diameter can be removed without the permit.

The other bylaw addresses changes to larger properties that could affect drainage or interfere with the existing waterways.

It prohibits any grading, filling, levelling or compacting without prior approval from the city. Fines for violating that bylaw range from $10,000 to $100,000.

Both bylaws take effect immediately.

mdalton@therecord.com