St. Catharines is laying hundreds of charges against four individuals for illegally felling trees in the Martindale Pond area.
Following an investigation by the City of St. Catharines By-law Enforcement Division and Municipal Works forestry staff, 776 total charges have been laid against the four individuals who cut down Martindale Pond trees without a permit in April, with each person receiving 194 charges individually.
The by-law, which outlaws the injury or destruction of a tree on city property without a permit, states that offenders face a minimum fine of $1,000 per count or $10,000, whichever is higher. In the case of the Martindale Pond tree-fellers, each of them faces a minimum fine of $194,000 if they are found guilty at an upcoming trial at the Ontario Court of Justice.
In an interview with the St. Catharines Standard, Port Dalhousie Councillor Carlos Garcia said that these trees seemed to be cut down so a nearby condominium development could have a better view of the pond.
At a city council meeting on Nov. 13, Garcia said this act wasn’t just a simple trimming, but a cutting down of trees with trunks more than a foot in diameter. By-law enforcement manager Paul Chudoba said that they were on city property between the pond and private property on the pond’s eastern shore.
In the discussion, councillor Bruce Williamson said, “In my own neighbourhood I see trees being cut down that don’t need to be cut down, particularly on some private properties where I think, with a little initiative, we could have prevented that from happening.”
This incident calls to mind a similar case that occurred from 2018 to 2020 when a St. Catharines landowner was charged $5,000 and ordered to plant 25 trees after illegally clearing a 40-metre-wide section of mature red oak, sugar maple and black walnut trees on the slope along the west side of Martindale Pond.
In the media release on the subject from the City of St. Catharines, Chudoba said of the 776 total charges, “This enforcement action represents the City’s unwavering commitment to protecting our green spaces and upholding our by-laws. We will continue to rigorously enforce these regulations to ensure the well-being of our community and its natural resources.”
“Protecting our trees and green spaces is not just a duty of the City, but a collective responsibility,” said Darrell Smith, Director of Municipal Works, in the same media release.
As per the urging of a “collective responsibility,” St. Catharines residents are encouraged to report any suspicious activity regarding by-law violations, including tree removal without a permit, at stcatharines.ca/reportanissue.
