'Tree massacre': Inner West councillors' warning after 'ambush'

Residents across Sydney's inner west will be free to raze trees on their properties with limited restrictions from council after a last-minute amendment was adopted by councillors.

The adoption of the amendment was labelled an "ambush" by Greens councillors, who argued it could lead to a "tree massacre" across the area.

Residents of Sydney's inner west face fewer restrictions to cutting trees down on their own properties, under a new council policy. Credit: Nick Moir

The Inner West Council had been scheduled to adopt a draft policy on Tuesday night which would have retained greater restrictions on landowners felling trees on their property. That policy had already been on public exhibition.

But independent Victor Macri presented amendments that he had previously worked on with Labor mayor Darcy Byrne.

These amendments mean residents will no longer need to seek council approval to prune or remove trees within three metres of an existing home or structure. The motion was adopted with the support of all Labor and Liberal councillors.

Greens councillor Colin Hesse labelled the changes to the plan as an "ambush" that weakened protections for trees, and gave owners and developers "carte blanche" permission to remove them.

"We've just cut ourselves to pieces here," he said. "If someone wants to chop down all the trees on their property and replace them with concrete, they can go for it."

But Cr Byrne said the system needed to be rebalanced to give more weight to home protection. "It's a really tricky policy question because we know how vital tree canopy is," he said.

"I, like every councillor ... have dealt with hundreds and hundreds of residents who have found it impossible to navigate the system for replacing trees."

Cr Byrne said a system where residents – particularly those who were cash-strapped or elderly – had to pay thousands for arborist and engineering reports, often to be told they were not allowed to remove a tree that was damaging their property, was not "reasonable or sustainable".

The plan adopted by the majority adds new objectives to the policy that had been on public exhibition. One objective is for the council to preserve "appropriate trees and vegetation." Another is to ensure the "cost burden of meeting tree canopy targets does not fall unreasonably on property owners and lower income residents".

The plan also aims to "encourage", but not require, owners to "plant new trees and replace inappropriate trees" to meet targets, which reflect the Greater Sydney Commission's ambition to nearly double tree canopy coverage across the city to 40 per cent.

Cr Hesse said the changes were designed to ensure the Liberal councillors' support of Cr Byrne's mayorship before next year's elections and were "a dirty political deal".

But Cr Byrne said the changes reflected his views that the policy needed "rebalancing".

Cr Hesse was also worried by changes that scrapped the tree height limit for residents removing "weed species", such as camphor laurels or Norfolk Island pines, without council permission. He said this could pave the way for mature trees that made a significant contribution to the area's tree canopy being cleared.

The council intends to review the plan after one year. Greens councillors are expected to put forward a rescission motion to return the matter to council.