Ormstown's rules on cutting and protecting trees are in chapter 12 of zoning bylaw 148-2023 and in permits bylaw 151-2023. Chapter 12 also covers shorelines, flood plains, drinking-water intakes, snow dumping and contaminated land. Felling a tree of 30 cm in diameter in contravention of the bylaw carries a fine of at least $500, plus an amount per tree or per hectare.
The copy of Bylaw 148-2023 the town has posted is an administrative codification that says it has no official value; it shows no adoption or in-force date and lists no amendments. The town's notices say Bylaw 148.4-2025, adopted April 13, 2026, amends it, including provisions on shorelines, littoral and flood zones, and that Bylaw 151.1-2025, adopted the same day, amends the permits bylaw. The Observer has not seen the text of either amendment.
Ormstown's environmental rules are in chapter 12 of zoning bylaw 148-2023, titled Dispositions relatives à la protection de l'environnement, à un secteur soumis à une contrainte et aux territoires d'intérêt (protection of the environment, constrained sectors and territories of interest). It runs from article 12.1 to 12.45.
Two other texts complete the picture. Permits bylaw 151-2023 requires the tree-cutting certificate and lists what the application must contain (art. 3.15). And article 12.14 of the zoning bylaw says that since March 1, 2022, a transitional regime (régime transitoire) for managing flood zones, shores and littoral applies across Québec, replaces the Politique de protection des rives, du littoral et des plaines inondables, and takes precedence over subsections 1 and 2 of its section 5, the flood-plain and shore-and-littoral provisions (art. 12.16 to 12.34). Article 12.14 lists the provincial regulations that carry the regime and says they form an integral part of annex F.
Article 1.6 says Bylaw 148-2023 repeals and replaces Bylaw 25-2006 and all its amendments. The posted copy is an administrative codification: it warns that it has no official value, its update date and table of amendments are blank, and it shows no adoption or in-force date. Article 16.1 says the bylaw comes into force according to law.
Article 12.8 of the zoning bylaw says no one may fell a tree of 3 cm in diameter or more, measured 30 cm from the ground, without first obtaining a tree-cutting certificate. Under article 3.15 of the permits bylaw, the application is made in writing on the municipality's form and must state the name of the owner of the lot, the lot number, the trunk dimensions, the location of the trees, the species, and the reason for the cut.
Article 3.15 asks for more in certain cases. A sanitary or salvage cut, or one justified by a silvicultural prescription, needs a scaled plan in duplicate plus a management plan or prescription signed by a forest engineer, and the CPTAQ authorization if applicable. Cutting for watercourse maintenance, for a hiking trail or a nature-observation or interpretation project, for firewood tied to a maple-syrup operation on the property, or for a CPTAQ-authorized operation in a sugar bush each carries its own document list.
For a certificate of authorization, the issuance period is 30 days from the time the file is complete; it can be extended when particular circumstances require, and a refusal must be given in writing with reasons within 30 days (permits art. 5.1). Article 5.2 says a permit or certificate is void if it is not acted on within six months of issue, and that it cannot be transferred. Article 5.3 says a certificate of authorization other than for a temporary use becomes void if the work has not begun within three months of issue. The fee is set by the municipal fee schedule (permits art. 5.4); Bylaw 39-2026 (in force June 1, 2026) sets $25 residential, $50 if more than 4 trees, and $50 for others, $75 if more than 4 trees (item 74).
Article 12.8 of the zoning bylaw sets the trigger at any tree of 3 centimetres in diameter or more, measured 30 cm from the ground. Article 3.15 of the permits bylaw sets it at a diameter greater than 0.1 metre (10 cm), measured 0.3 metre from the ground.
Both bylaws have precedence rules. Zoning article 1.16 says that a specific provision prevails over a general one and that, between a restrictive or prohibitive provision of the zoning bylaw and a provision of another bylaw, the most restrictive or prohibitive applies unless otherwise indicated. Permits article 1.5 says that when one of its provisions is incompatible with another municipal bylaw, the most restrictive or prohibitive provision applies, unless otherwise indicated. A third figure appears in the penalty provision: article 2.9 of the zoning bylaw attaches its tree-cutting fines to a tree of 30 centimetres in diameter, measured 130 cm above the highest ground level.
Article 12.10 lists the exceptions. A tree may be felled if it is dead or has an incurable disease; if it is dangerous to people's safety; if it is a nuisance to the growth of neighbouring trees or to equipment; if it is damaging public or private property; if it makes impossible public works or a construction or landscaping project authorized by the municipality; or if it belongs to the Salix or Populus families (willow, poplar, aspen).
Article 12.10 opens with “Malgré les mesures de protection énoncées ci-haut” (despite the protection measures set out above). It does not say whether the certificate required by article 12.8 is still needed in these cases.
Article 12.5 sets a minimum tree density: in every zone inside the urban perimeter, one tree must be kept for each 100 m² of lot area. If trees must be felled for one of the reasons in article 12.10 and the density is no longer met, they must be replaced, except in agricultural zones, by a tree 3 cm in diameter, measured 30 cm from the ground.
A tree planted to reach the minimum density must be chosen from Table 12.1, which lists 52 species and marks the native ones with an asterisk. The native ones include sugar, red, silver and black maple, yellow and white birch, bitternut and shagbark hickory, hackberry, American beech, butternut, ironwood, balsam fir, tamarack, white, black and red spruce, white, red and jack pine, and eastern hemlock. The list also includes oaks (Quercus spp., not marked native) and non-native species such as Amur maple, Norway spruce, ginkgo and honey locust. Planting must be completed within 12 months of the date the tree-cutting certificate is issued.
Under article 12.7, any tree planted to meet the minimum density or after an offence must be maintained by its owner, and if it dies or declines within five years of planting, the owner must replace it within six months of noticing it.
Where a new tree can go is regulated too. Article 10.7 says a tree must be planted outside a street right-of-way, and at least 3 metres from a fire hydrant, a water or sewer service connection, a natural gas line or a public streetlight, and 1.5 metres from a visibility triangle, a traffic sign, the street pavement edge, a public sidewalk, or a public path or bike lane.
Article 12.1 says every owner must see to the protection of trees on their property, and every owner or builder must adequately protect the branches, trunks and roots of trees near buildings under construction or demolition.
Article 12.2 says that, depending on the work, trees must be protected in one or more of these ways: a fence beyond the ground projection of the crown when any part of the tree above or below ground could be damaged or compacted, for example by heavy machinery; temporary storage of construction or landscaping materials, including excavated soil and fill; where that is technically impossible, protection of the trunk to a height of at least 2.4 metres plus a temporary layer of non-compacting material, such as wood chips at least 30 cm thick, over the ground projection of the crown; protection or pruning of branches that could be damaged; and clean, right-angle cuts of roots over 2 cm in diameter in the work area. The storage item does not say where the materials are to be stored.
Article 12.3 addresses fill. The natural soil around the trunk must stay undisturbed within the ground projection of the crown or the drip line, any permanent fill deeper than 15 cm around a tree must be done with a berm, and no fill may be placed inside the crown's ground projection.
Article 12.9 says that when work has been authorized by a building permit or certificate, felling trees within the work perimeters is authorized by issuing a tree-cutting certificate, based on the surveyor's site plan and these clearances: 5 metres on one side and 3 metres on the other three sides of a main building; 1.5 metres for an accessory building; 3 metres for an in-ground or above-ground pool; 1 metre for a parking area including the driveway entrance and access lane; 2 metres for a septic installation; and zero for a groundwater intake or an electrical connection.
Article 2.9 sets penalties specific to tree cutting. Felling a tree of 30 cm in diameter, measured 130 cm above the highest ground level, in contravention of the bylaw carries a minimum $500 fine, plus:
These amounts are doubled on a repeat offence. Article 2.9 also says any offence for an unauthorized cut carries an obligation to plant a tree of 15 cm in diameter, measured 30 cm above the root system, within 10 months of the offence. Article 12.6 says a tree felled in contravention of the bylaw, felled for authorized work that was changed, or dead because it was not protected must be replaced with a tree of at least 5 cm in diameter, measured 30 cm from the ground, chosen from Table 12.2: serviceberry, yellow birch, white oak, red maple, sugar maple, American beech, white pine and eastern hemlock, and planted by the November 1 following the municipality's notice. The two articles give different sizes and deadlines.
General zoning offences run $500 to $1,000 for an individual and $500 to $2,000 for a legal person on a first offence, for each day or part of a day, rising to $800 to $2,000 and $800 to $4,000 on a repeat offence (art. 2.7). Every day an offence continues is a separate offence (art. 2.10).
Section 3 of chapter 12 sets rules for the boisé de Franklin et Ormstown, identified on annex C of the zoning bylaw. Inside it, thinning and sanitation cuts are allowed with a municipal certificate. Conversion cuts are allowed if a forest engineer attests that the cut is essential and a deforestation plan prepared by that same professional is filed with the municipality (art. 12.11).
Article 12.12 authorizes clearing (déboisement) for these works: clearing for agricultural development; clearing to develop permitted activities; maintenance and improvement works by the government or its agent and the municipality under government or municipal programs and the laws and regulations in force; development works by the municipality under such programs; and maintenance of electricity, gas and communication networks.
Article 12.13 covers a strip along chemin de la Rivière Châteauguay and Route 138A. Within 5 metres of the road right-of-way line, removing woody material is prohibited except for sanitary and maintenance cuts, and except where a tree may endanger public safety. Any dead tree within that strip must be replaced with one of at least 3 cm in diameter, measured 30 cm from the ground.
Article 12.14 says that since March 1, 2022, the provincial régime transitoire replaces the Politique de protection des rives, du littoral et des plaines inondables and takes precedence over the municipal flood-plain and shore-and-littoral provisions summarized below (subsections 1 and 2 of section 5).
Under the definition in permits bylaw 151-2023, the rive (shore) is a strip of land bordering lakes and watercourses, measured horizontally inland from the high-water mark. It is a minimum of 10 metres where the slope is under 30%, or over 30% with a bank less than 5 m high; and a minimum of 15 metres where the slope is continuous and over 30%, or over 30% with a bank more than 5 m high. Article 12.15 says all lakes and watercourses, whether flowing regularly or intermittently, are covered by the shore provisions. Ditches are exempt.
In the littoral, which the permits bylaw defines as the part of lakes, watercourses and wetlands extending from the high-water mark toward the centre of the water body or wetland, all construction, works and structures are prohibited in principle. Article 12.31 lists the exceptions, if they are compatible with the flood-plain protection measures: docks, shelters and boat landings on stilts, piles or floating platforms; watercourse crossings such as fords, culverts and bridges; aquaculture equipment; surface-water intakes built under the provincial Règlement sur le prélèvement des eaux et leur protection, except supply or diversion channels for non-agricultural purposes; encroachment necessary for authorized work on the shore; cleaning and maintenance of watercourses without dredging by a municipal authority; works for municipal, industrial, commercial, public or public-access purposes that are subject to an authorization under Québec's environment, wildlife or water-regime laws or any other law; and maintenance, repair and demolition of existing structures not used for municipal, industrial, commercial, public or public-access purposes.
On the rive itself, article 12.32 also prohibits construction, works and structures in principle, with listed exceptions. Building or enlarging a main building, for a use other than municipal, commercial, industrial, public or public-access, is possible only if the lot's dimensions no longer allow it because of the shore protection strip and it cannot reasonably be done elsewhere on the lot; if the lot was described by metes and bounds or subdivided before the first interim control bylaw took effect (April 11, 1983) or the applicable municipal bylaw prohibiting construction on the shore; if the lot is not in a high erosion or landslide risk area identified in the MRC's schéma d'aménagement; and if a 5-metre strip is kept in its current state or, preferably, returned to nature, with no cantilevered structure over it. A garage, shed or pool is allowed only on the part of a shore that is no longer in a natural state, under conditions that include the 5-metre strip and resting on the ground without excavation or fill.
Any construction, work or structure likely to destroy or modify shoreline vegetation, expose bare soil, affect bank stability, or encroach on the littoral must be authorized beforehand (art. 12.30). Forest management activities governed by the provincial Loi sur l'aménagement durable du territoire forestier are not subject to municipal prior authorization.
Article 12.33 prohibits pushing, depositing or throwing snow into a lake, watercourse or retention basin, and within 15 metres of the high-water mark of a lake or watercourse. Article 12.34 sets conditions at the foot and top of banks whose average slope exceeds 25%: residential buildings of two storeys or less need a setback equal to twice the total height of the bank at its top and twice its height at its base; taller residential buildings, non-residential buildings, roads and streets need five times the height at the top and twice at the base. Filling at the top and excavation at the base of these banks are prohibited.
In flood plains, article 12.16 requires prior authorization for any construction, work or structure liable to alter the water regime, obstruct the free flow of water during a flood, disturb wildlife or plant habitat, or endanger people and property. In the high-current zone (0–20 years) and in flood plains mapped without a distinction between high- and low-current zones, construction, works and structures are prohibited in principle, subject to articles 12.18 and 12.19 (art. 12.17). Forest management activities under provincial law and agricultural activities without fill or excavation are not subject to municipal prior authorization (art. 12.16).
Article 12.35 sets a minimum 30-metre protection radius around water intakes supplying drinking-water distribution networks. Inside it, septic disposal fields and the spreading of manure, fertilizer, pesticides and insecticides are prohibited, as are works, structures and activities, except those required for capturing the water and maintaining the intake. The immediate, intermediate and remote protection areas for category 1, 2 and 3 water withdrawals are determined under the provincial regulation (art. 12.37) and shown on the plan in annex G (art. 12.39).
On land identified as contaminated by the Environment ministry, article 12.45 requires any subdivision, construction, expansion or change of main use to obtain, as required by permits bylaw 151-2023, a certificate of authorization from the ministry showing that the requirements for the intended uses and, if applicable, any decontamination work are met. Where cut-and-fill work is involved, a berm, planting or fence is required to screen it.
The town's adoption notice says that on April 13, 2026, council adopted Bylaw 148.4-2025, amending zoning bylaw 148-2023. The consultation notice describes it as amending 148-2023 to concord with changes to the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent's schéma d'aménagement made by MRC Bylaw 345-2024, and says it modifies “certaines dispositions relatives à la politique sur la protection des rives, du littoral et des zones inondables” (certain provisions on the policy for the protection of shorelines, littoral and flood zones) and open-air tourist accommodation tied to a registered agricultural business. It says the provisions apply to the entire municipal territory. The consultation notice, dated March 19, 2026, set the public meeting for Thursday, March 26, at 6 p.m. at town hall. The adoption notice, dated April 20, 2026, says the bylaw comes into force on the day the notice is published.
The Observer has not seen the text of 148.4-2025; this explainer describes chapter 12 as printed in the posted copy of 148-2023. That copy leaves its update date blank and its table of amendments empty. It warns that the codification has no official value and that, for all legal purposes, the official version of the bylaw and of each of its amendments must be consulted.
Felling a tree of 3 cm or more in diameter (zoning art. 12.8), or of more than 0.1 metre (permits art. 3.15), measured 30 cm from the ground, requires a tree-cutting certificate first. Inside the urban perimeter, a lot must keep one tree per 100 m² (art. 12.5). On the shore of a lake or watercourse, 10 or 15 metres wide depending on the slope, construction, works and structures are prohibited in principle, with the exceptions in article 12.32, and the provincial transitional regime takes precedence over these provisions (art. 12.14). When construction is authorized, the clearances in article 12.9 set where trees may be cut.
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