Infill moves fast. Your arborist should too.
I help developers, builders and architects with the tree side of urban infill projects in Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington and Hamilton.
We need more neighbourhood, not just more housing
Affordable, well-located housing decides who gets to stay. A laneway suite is a family that doesn’t have to leave. A garden suite is an adult child who would otherwise be priced out of where they grew up. A missing middle project is a street that gets a little more alive.
I know because I lived in one. I spent two years in an accessory dwelling unit while I finished college and started a life with my now-wife. It’s still the best place I’ve ever lived, and it’s part of why I do this work.
That’s why I don’t treat trees as an obstacle to work around. They’re a feature to build with, and they’re what separates a neighbourhood from a development.
Every metre matters
The neighbour’s oak is two metres from your proposed foundation. The bylaw says one thing and Urban Forestry staff read it another way. There’s a regulated tree nobody flagged in due diligence. The building envelope your architect spent two months on doesn’t account for a tree the City won’t approve for removal.
These aren’t hypotheticals. They show up on infill sites all the time, and they cause redesigns, missed closings and tens of thousands in unplanned costs. One thing missed early can cost you months.
A standard report documents what’s there and cites the bylaw. On a straightforward project that’s enough. On a 9 metre lot with a neighbour tree conflict, protected trees and a $500,000 laneway suite on the line, it isn’t.
Infill projects need an arborist who understands the whole development process, not just the tree inventory. Someone who can read a site plan and flag the root conflict before the engineer finalizes the foundation, knows how Toronto Urban Forestry operates differently from Burlington’s, and can sit in a pre-consultation meeting and speak the same language as the architect, planner and contractor. That’s what I do.
“I worked with Brent on several laneway and garden suites on difficult properties with large mature trees. He was able to help find creative solutions that resulted in successful Urban Forestry permits. Would highly recommend Brent if you are working on any infill projects in Toronto!”
Projects I support
Laneway and garden suites
Accessory dwelling units are one of the best tools Canadian cities have for adding gentle density. They house family, create rental income and add supply without displacing anyone. They’re also among the most complex residential projects for trees: mature trees, tight setbacks and neighbour conflicts in a small space. This is where early arborist involvement pays for itself most clearly.
Missing middle housing
Multiplexes, townhouses and small multi-unit buildings are what most cities underbuilt for decades, and they fit established streets while widening who can afford to live there. When the building envelope and the canopy compete for the same ground, I help find the design that lets both exist.
Additions and renovations
Second storeys, rear extensions, underpinning and major renovations that trigger tree requirements. The families doing these projects are usually choosing to stay in their neighbourhood, and they shouldn’t be punished for it with surprise permit conditions. Homeowners and contractors often don’t know the requirements exist until the application comes back. I help prevent that.
Intensification projects
Subdivisions, infill housing and commercial projects in established neighbourhoods with mature canopy and active protection. These are the hardest files: mature canopy, active protection and neighbours paying attention. Bring me in at concept stage, before the design is built on assumptions that won’t survive bylaw review.
When to bring in an arborist
Each stage builds on the one before.
Concept site analysis
Before your architect draws a line, I can tell you where the constraints are: which trees are protected, which are borderline, where the root zones fall and what the bylaw will require. You get a clear picture of what the site can support before design money is spent.
Pre-application and design
Tree protection plans and arborist reports formatted for the specific municipality, with direct coordination with your architect, engineer and landscape architect. I also flag foundation alternatives when the standard approach conflicts with trees, including helical piles, grade beams and suspended slabs, and document neighbour tree agreements. The goal is approval on the first submission.
Permit application support
When Urban Forestry sends a comment or condition, I answer the same day. I handle technical responses, Committee of Adjustment representation when a minor variance is needed, and direct communication with staff, so questions don’t sit and turn into delays.
Construction oversight
Protection verification, monitoring visits, AirSpade excavation near roots and problem solving when site conditions don’t match the plan. See construction monitoring.
Fees and engagement
Infill consulting is priced on project complexity, site constraints and how involved I need to be.
A typical residential infill project is a turnkey approval package: site assessment, arborist report, tree protection plan and application management. Installing protection and overseeing construction are scoped separately, based on the size and length of the project.
I work mainly on fixed fees for defined deliverables, so you’re paying for outcomes (approval certainty, schedule protection and compliance) rather than hours. The first conversation covers scope in detail and ends with a clear proposal.
More on the rules in each city: Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton.
The best time to bring me in is before the design is locked
The second best time is now. Whatever stage you are at, a conversation costs nothing and usually clears up a lot.