Status: Approved. A decision has been taken. It has not necessarily taken effect.
Halton Regional Council approves removing 38 trees to widen the Kelso Conservation Area beach road
Regional Council approved a special tree permit on November 4 so Conservation Halton can widen and regrade the Kelso beach access road for accessibility and emergency-vehicle access, with 114 replacement trees planted on the property.
The details
Update, November 5: Council approved the permit on November 4
Update, November 5: Halton Regional Council approved Conservation Halton's Special Council Permit application for Kelso Conservation Area at its November 4 meeting, according to the meeting's minutes. Council adopted all the Public Works reports on the agenda in a single carried motion, and the minutes record no amendments to PW-26-26. The resolution approves the permit under Tree By-law No. 121-05, subject to the conditions in the report, and directs the Regional Clerk to send the report to the Town of Milton and the Niagara Escarpment Commission. The minutes give no schedule for the tree removal or the road work.
What Council was asked to approve
Halton Regional Council was asked on Wednesday, November 4, to grant Conservation Halton a Special Council Permit to remove trees at Kelso Conservation Area, 5234 Kelso Road in Milton. The item was staff report PW-26-26, on the agenda for the Regular Meeting of Regional Council that started at 9:30 a.m.
According to the report, Conservation Halton is seeking approval to remove 38 trees to widen and reduce the grade of the beach access road, to comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, and to improve access for emergency vehicles. The report says the slope conditions require a retaining wall to be built.
- Kelso Conservation Area, 5234 Kelso Road, Town of Milton; the property is about 134 hectares
- Conservation Halton
- Widening and regrading the beach access road, with a retaining wall
- 38 healthy trees larger than 10 cm in diameter at breast height
- 44
- 114 trees on the property, a 3:1 ratio
- September 21, 2026
- Approve, subject to conditions
- None, the report says
Why the Region has to approve it
Halton's Tree By-law No. 121-05, in effect since January 1, 2006, prohibits destroying or injuring trees in woodlands larger than 0.5 hectares unless the work is good forestry practice or is exempted under the by-law. The report says no planning application is needed for this work, so Conservation Halton applied for a Special Council Permit under Section 7 of the by-law, because the work would permanently remove part of a woodland.
The report says the lands are in the Natural Heritage System of the Region's former Official Plan and in the Greenbelt Natural Heritage System. It says the area where trees would be removed was identified as a key feature in the Region's former Official Plan, and that the report accompanying the application found the area would meet the definition of "significant woodland" in that plan.
What staff found
Conservation Halton's Registered Professional Forester identified the 38 trees proposed for removal, and its ecology staff provided a scoped Environmental Impact Assessment. The report says that assessment found other locations for the road would not further reduce tree removal or impacts on natural heritage, and that the work is not expected to cause significant harm to the environment or long-term negative impacts on ecological functions.
The applicant's report recommends timing the tree cutting to avoid wildlife activity, using best construction practices, keeping an erosion and sediment control plan and putting up wildlife exclusion fencing. Regional foresters assessed the site with Conservation Halton staff. The report says options to move the work are limited by the existing road, a steep slope and the woodland, and staff agree the planned clearing area minimizes tree removal and injury.
The report says Region staff gave written notice of the application to all abutting landowners and received no comments.
Conditions staff recommended, now approved
- Conservation Halton compensates for the tree removal by carrying out its woodland planting and monitoring plan.
- Conservation Halton protects the remaining woodland using the tree protection and preservation measures in its application.
- A certified arborist or Registered Professional Forester visits the site during and after tree removal and construction, and the Regional Forester is told when tree removal is complete.
- The Region gets at least 48 hours' notice before any tree is injured or removed.
- Conservation Halton complies with all applicable legislation, and all tree removal follows By-law No. 121-05.
What happens next
With Council's approval, the report says staff will issue the permit to Conservation Halton with the terms and conditions Council approves. The report also recommends that the Regional Clerk send a copy to the Town of Milton and the Niagara Escarpment Commission for information. It does not give a construction schedule or say whether the beach or the road would close during the work.