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Tree Troubles

Village responds to civil suit


The Village of Lions Bay has responded to a civil action filed earlier this year by Brunswick Beach couple Carl and Nicole Lund.


According to paperwork filed with the BC Supreme Court on March 5, Carl and Nicole Lund are seeking redress regarding three fir trees bordering the side of their property.


The action states that the trees, largely situated on municipal land, have "littered the property with tree branches, limbs and caustic tree sap", which have damaged the family's property from the time they moved in. The suit claims that the trees are "structurally compromised and at risk of partial or complete failure" which puts the family and their guests "at substantial risk of catastrophic injury and death".


The suit indicates that the onus for this tree removal should rest with the Village of Lions Bay, which is named as the defendant in this action.


The Lunds are seeking that the trees be taken down and cleared away, along with general damages for the loss of use and enjoyment of the property, aggravated damages, punitive damages, special damages, interest and court costs.


In the response filed in April, the Village denied the allegations contained in the notice of civil claim.


Since that time, there has been significant and often heated debate on the topic among local residents on social media.


Members of Council are unable to respond to questions as the action works its way through the courts, but the Village tree bylaw can be found HERE.


The public record shows the initial application to cut down the trees was received in April, 2019, and was a topic of discussion in many subsequent Council and Tree Committee meetings. Neighbours were canvassed and aborists consulted as issues of tree health, erosion and slope stability were considered.


A decision was reached at the regular meeting on June 4, 2019, after extensive discussion of these issues, along with other complicating factors including the existence of a set of steps that were under an encroachment agreement with a neighbouring property.


In the end, Council accepted the staff recommendation to deny the application and maintain the trees based on their heritage status and slope stability benefits, among other factors.


BC Supreme Court records show that this is not the first action filed by the Lunds against the Village with regard to the removal of these trees.


In July 2023, they initiated a civil action that the Village denied the following October. It does not appear that further action was taken in that case.


In this current filing, the last action documented in the public record is the Village's denial of the claim, which is dated April 25, 2025.



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