Dear Editor:
Re: Trees take backseat to development boom, Burnaby NOW, Oct. 10.
Mayor Derek Corrigan is quoted as saying "There are people who . feel we should regulate trees on other people's properties, and then there are people who feel it is a real interference with their property rights." Evidently some Burnaby property owners want no trees on their property at all, and our current bylaws seem to allow that.
Given the many benefits of having trees in the urban setting, the obligation to retain or plant trees ought to be shared among all property owners. Our mayor may need reminding that property rights are never unlimited rights.
Broader society always has an obligation to constrain property rights or impose conditions on owners to prevent obnoxious or dysfunctional situations and promote healthy ones.
We need a better balance in our tree bylaws. Surely we are paying enough taxes to fund the man hours in the planning department to bring this issue off the back burner and make it a priority.
J. Thornton, Burnaby
