Abstract
This report examines the relationship between urban forest canopy, land-use policy, and development pressures in the Rockland neighbourhood within the context of the City of Victoria’s 2025 Official Community Plan update and its 2050 urban forest canopy targets. Drawing on City datasets, LiDAR-based canopy analyses, tree inventory records, annual reports, and information obtained through Freedom of Information requests, the analysis evaluates canopy change over time, the effectiveness and limitations of tree protection bylaws, and the impacts of provincial housing legislation and local policy shifts—particularly reduced landscape dedication requirements—on plantable space and tree replacement capacity. While city-wide and neighbourhood canopy cover has increased modestly over the past two decades, the report identifies a growing imbalance between vegetation loss from development and gains from planting, with current growth rates insufficient to meet the City’s 40% canopy target by 2050 without intervention. Rockland’s relatively high canopy cover is shown to be disproportionately reliant on private land, leaving it vulnerable to intensified redevelopment, limited public planting opportunities, and fragmented management strategies. The findings raise concerns about long-term urban forest sustainability, transparency of tree inventory data, and the adequacy of existing funding and planting programs, and underscore the need for integrated policy, resourcing, and monitoring to align growth, equity, and ecological resilience goals.
