Vancouver Greens on nature: tree canopy, city arborist office, 3-30-300 green space
The Green Party of Vancouver would strengthen tree protection bylaws, create a municipal arborist office, tie occupancy permits to tree health checks and require rezonings to add canopy. It adopts a 3-30-300 goal: 3 trees in view, a 30% canopy and green space within 300m of every home.
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH · PAGES 12 TO 13
Ecosystems: what the Platform 2026 says
Trees take up most of this chapter of the Green Party of Vancouver platform. Under the heading "Trees for a Healthier City", the party lists the steps it would take to grow a larger canopy. They include stronger tree protection bylaws, incentives for developers who keep large trees on private land, tighter rules for removing trees to make room for construction, and more replacement planting when mature trees are lost.
Two of the tree steps would change how development is checked. The Greens would make an occupancy permit, the city's final approval before people move into a new building, depend on a review of tree health after construction. They would also hire certified arborists, who are trained tree experts, into a new city office that reviews developers' tree reports independently.
The party's wider goal is the "3-30-300" rule: every household should see 3 trees from home, live in a neighbourhood with 30% tree canopy, and be within 300m of a green space. To get there, it would require rezonings to add canopy and green space, buy new park land with a restored developer levy for park purchases, restore wetlands and uncover buried creeks, and ban the sale of prohibited invasive plants in Vancouver.
Most of this chapter is Council's to decide. Council passes the city's tree bylaw, issues development and occupancy permits, sets the levies that developers pay, and approves the budget for planting and grants. A ban on selling invasive plants would also be a city bylaw. Work inside parks is different: the separately elected Park Board runs Vancouver's parks, so new planting, rewilding or creek restoration on park land would need its agreement.
THE PARTY'S NUMBERS
Figures in this chapter
Trees the party says every household should be able to see
The party's figure, page 13Tree canopy the party says every neighbourhood should have
The party's figure, page 13Greatest distance from home to a green space under the party's 3-30-300 rule
The party's figure, page 1318 COMMITMENTS
What the party says it would do
Trees for a Healthier City
The party commits to growing a larger, healthier tree canopy to give more shade, cooler streets, cleaner air and healthier neighbourhoods city-wide.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council's tree bylaw covers trees on private land, while trees in parks are managed by the Park Board.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 12
Protect and expand our urban forest
The Greens would strengthen tree protection bylaws and preserve mature trees.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council passes the Protection of Trees By-law, which sets when a tree on private land may be removed.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 12
Reward tree retention
The party would offer incentives to developments that protect significant trees on private property.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets the development rules and fees that incentives would change.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 12
Plant more climate-resilient trees
The Greens would commit dedicated funding to expand the city's canopy with tree species suited to a changing climate.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council approves the city budget that would pay for the planting.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 12
Reform technical tree removal rules
The party would tighten the standards for tree removals justified by construction logistics, while creating clear, practical ways to allow for real construction and crane access needs.
- Who has the power
- City Council The removal rules are in the city's tree bylaw, which Council can amend.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 12
Replace more trees than we remove
The Greens would require stronger mitigation, replacement planting and canopy restoration when mature trees are lost to development.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets the conditions that come with tree removal permits and development permits.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 12
Protect trees for the long term
The party would make occupancy permits conditional on a review of tree health after construction, and on repairs where construction has damaged protected trees.
- Who has the power
- City Council The city issues occupancy permits, so Council can add conditions to them.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 12
Create a municipal arborist office
The Greens would create a city office with in-house certified arborists to independently review tree assessments, improve transparency and build public confidence in tree decisions linked to development.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council approves the city budget and the staff positions it pays for.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 12
Maintain and strengthen Vancouver's Bird Friendly City certification
The party would keep and strengthen the city's Bird Friendly City certification.
- Who has the power
- City Council Keeping the certification depends on city programs and rules that Council funds and approves.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 12
Support a Youth Climate Corps for Urban Forestry
The Greens would support a Youth Climate Corps, with matching funding opportunities, to plant and maintain new tree canopy and give youth climate work at a living wage.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council can fund its share, but the platform's plan for matching funding means other funders would have to take part.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 12
Require rezonings to increase the urban tree canopy and green spaces
As part of the Trees for a Healthier City strategy, the party would require rezonings to add tree canopy and green space, including green roofs and micro-forest understorey, the low plants under trees, with a focus on native and climate-resilient plants.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council approves every rezoning and can set conditions on it.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 13
Add new green spaces
The Greens would add green spaces, in particular in areas targeted for new development and density, by buying land with a restored park acquisition developer cost levy, a charge developers pay to the city for new park land.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets development cost levies by bylaw under the Vancouver Charter, and park land is one of the purposes they can pay for.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 13
Rewilding
The party would encourage more native plants and natural spaces, including micro-forests and understorey, to protect biodiversity, help pollinators and promote a healthier environment.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council controls city streets and development rules, while the Park Board controls plantings in parks.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 13
Move to remove invasive species
The Greens would ban the sale of prohibited invasive species plants in Vancouver, and create an incentive program to help gardeners identify and remove invasive plants from their gardens.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council would have to pass the sales ban as a city bylaw and fund the incentive program in the budget.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 13
Develop a Community Environmental Stewardship program
The party would offer small grants for low-cost, high-impact community care of ecological corridors and green spaces.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council approves city grant programs through its budget.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 13
Value nature as infrastructure
The Greens would treat trees, wetlands, waterways and green spaces as critical infrastructure assets by adding Natural Asset Accounting, a way of putting a value on nature in the city's books, to city decisions and budgets.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council approves the city budget and the capital plan, and decides how the city accounts for its assets.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 13
Restore wetlands and uncover buried creeks
The party would restore wetlands and uncover buried creeks to improve flood protection, biodiversity and climate resilience. The platform calls natural ecosystems some of Vancouver's most valuable infrastructure assets.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council funds work on city land through the capital plan, and the Park Board would have to agree to work inside parks.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 13
3-30-300: Access to Greenspace
The Greens adopt the 3-30-300 rule: every household should be able to see 3 trees, live in a neighbourhood with a 30% tree canopy, and be 300m from a green space.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council controls development rules and tree protection on private land, and the Park Board runs parks, so both bodies would have to act.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 13
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Where the power sits for this chapter
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about ecosystems
What is the Vancouver Green Party's 3-30-300 rule?
The Green Party of Vancouver says every household should be able to see 3 trees, live in a neighbourhood with a 30% tree canopy, and be 300m from a green space. The platform calls it a rule for a healthier, greener city (platform, page 13).
How would the Green Party of Vancouver protect trees from development?
The Greens would strengthen the tree protection bylaws, tighten the rules for removing trees for construction access, and require more replacement planting when mature trees are lost. They would also make occupancy permits depend on a tree health review after construction (platform, page 12).
What is the municipal arborist office proposed by Vancouver's Greens?
The Green Party of Vancouver would create a city office with in-house certified arborists, trained tree experts, to review developers' tree assessments independently. The party says this would improve transparency and public confidence in tree decisions (platform, page 12).
Would the Green Party of Vancouver ban invasive plants?
The Greens would ban the sale of prohibited invasive species plants in Vancouver. They would also create an incentive program to help gardeners identify and remove invasive plants from their gardens (platform, page 13).
How would the Vancouver Greens pay for new parks in growing areas?
The Green Party of Vancouver would buy land for new green spaces with a restored park acquisition developer cost levy, a charge developers pay the city. It would focus on areas targeted for new development and density (platform, page 13).
Who would carry out the Green Party of Vancouver's tree and nature plans?
City Council passes the tree bylaw, issues permits and sets developer levies, so it controls most of the chapter. Work inside parks, such as new planting or creek restoration, also needs the Park Board, which runs Vancouver's parks (platform, pages 12 to 13).
What is the Youth Climate Corps in the Vancouver Green platform?
The Greens would support a Youth Climate Corps for Urban Forestry, with matching funding opportunities, to plant and care for new tree canopy. The party says it would give youth climate work at a living wage (platform, page 12).
ON THE BALLOT
The Green Party of Vancouver candidates behind this
Sources
Every commitment on this page comes from the party's own material, marked SAYS SO ITSELF. It proves what the party says it would do. Who holds each power is our own addition, from the sources listed after it.
- Platform 2026, Green Party of Vancouver (72-page PDF, last updated September 29, 2026) SAYS SO ITSELFGreen Party of Vancouver · pages 12 to 13 · published · checked
- Protection of Trees By-law 9958 City of Vancouver · checked
- Bulletin: Development Cost Levies City of Vancouver · checked