Collingwood’s hospital could face a fine or an expensive tree-planting project after it clearcut a woodlot on its property without permission or permits from the town.
The town has received several complaints from neighbours about the clearcutting, and the town has been in talks with hospital officials since then.
The Mayor says it wasn’t just a small area of bushes; there were trees with a 30 centimetre diameter in the woodlot.
Chris Carrier says hospital officials have told him they didn’t know they were required to get permits to chop down the trees.
He says the destruction of the trees violated not only the town’s tree-cutting bylaws, but also the hospital’s site plan agreement, which requires 30 percent tree cover in some areas.
Carrier says the town continues to investigate the hospital’s actions, and he expects there will be charges laid, either by the town or by some of the upset citizens he’s heard from.
The treecutting bylaw carries fines of up to 10-thousand dollars, which could be levied against the facility’s CAO or Board of Directors, or both.
He says the hospital could also be forced to replant the area with mature trees.