Thursday, October 2, 2025 - For many years, the City has been carefully monitoring and working to retain the trees around Civic Centre. Unfortunately, after ongoing assessment, three Horsechestnut trees have now reached the point where they must be removed to ensure the safety of the public and staff.
Several serious concerns have been identified:
Significant internal decay in the main stems, leading to very poor structural integrity.
Previous branch and upper stem failures, showing that the trees can no longer safely support themselves.
Oozing seams and decay around branch attachment points, a sign of advanced internal breakdown.
Overall poor health and vigor, with widespread leaf browning, leaf spot, and chlorosis.
Together, these issues mean the trees are in significant decline and pose a risk of complete failure. As part of our Urban Forest Strategy, the area has been thoroughly assessed, and removal is the most responsible course of action. While it is always difficult to lose mature trees, this decision prioritizes community safety.
The work is expected to take place Tuesday October 7th, 2025 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
We understand how important these trees have been to the character of Spirit Square and City Hall, and we remain committed to managing our urban forest with care, transparency and long-term vision, with public safety as our first priority.
Any questions or comments can be sent to parksandrec@pittmeadows.ca.
