Members of the Long Branch community have been fighting to save the iconic Black Barn Maple tree from being injured.
The fate of an iconic Long Branch Black Barn Maple tree that is about 100-years-old is still blowing in the wind.
A Committee of Adjustment will consider on January 18 if the tree should stay untouched.
The tree and long-time neighbourhood landmark may be injured or destroyed by the extension of a dwelling and adding of a garden on the property at 95 James Street.
Residents of the Long Branch community have banded together to stop the extension and save the tree, which has gone back and forth to different hearings due to appeals.
An arborist report states the historic tree is healthy but can easily suffer damages if not handled properly.
“The Black Barn Maple is the quintessential pride and joy of Long Branch, home of Canada’s largest Tree Festival,” said Bill Zufelt, Executive Director of the Long Branch Neighbourhood Association in a letter to the committee. “Be stalwarts … protecting this gracious lady from mutilation, destruction or death.”
An arborist report states that the tree is healthy.
“The tree is in good condition, however given its size it is entering the latter phase of its life,” according to the report, which estimates the tree to be at least 100-years-old.
It said trunk protection and mulching is to be installed prior to any site work, which has to be done by hand.
A James Street homeowner wants to expand his home and make a garden and members of the community fear the worst.
“The proposed injury is minor and is not expected to adversely impact the tree,” the arborist wrote. “Silver Maple is a weak-wooded species prone to storm damage and is generally not well suited to small urban landscapes.”
The report said trees are ‘living organisms, and their health and vigour constantly change over time.’ “They are not immune to changes in site conditions or seasonal variations in the weather conditions.”
The tree is the largest deciduous tree in South Western Toronto, according to the Long Branch Tree Canopy and the Metropolitan University of Toronto Forestry Department.
Zufelt said the Black Barn Maple once belonged to Col. Samuel Smith, one of the first administrators of Upper Canada in the early 1800s after Lord John Graves Simcoe. Smith’s portrait is displayed at Queens Park.
He said In the 1850s the land was acquired by the James Eastwood family and they lumbered the lands using Smiths saw mill to clear the property to create a prominent cattle and horse farm.
The maple is named after the largest of the three Eastwood Black Barns, and was visible from land, sea and rail and became a significant landmark on the Western Toronto Gateway.
In 2021 the Black Barn Maple was nominated to be an official Heritage Tree of Forest Ontario.
The community has banded together with signs and flyers to save the tree.
The City of Toronto first opposed the property developer’s request for a permit to remove the tree. But this was later revoked when the City revealed in a document that they had come to a settlement with the builder, which residents believe to be a numbered company.
Judy Gibson, Chair, Tree Canopy Preservation and Enhancement Committee Long Branch Neighbourhood Association, in a letter this month noted the applicant plans to construct a garden suite in the rear yard and ‘that will also injure this potential to become a Heritage Tree.”
She said a permit was issued by the City last October for a garden suite to be built on the lot.
“A garden suite cannot be built on this property without injuring the Black Barn Maple,” Gibson wrote. “The foot print and plans for that building should be provided to the committee for a complete picture of the development of this property.”
She asked the committee to deny the application as Toronto Local Appeal Body did some time ago.