West Queen West residents fear for future of rare, old elm locals use 'as GPS'

West Queen West residents are struggling to protect what they say is one of the city's rarest trees: a 20-metre tall, 150-year-old American elm that has become a neighbourhood landmark.

There are concerns that increased development in the neighbourhood near Trinity Bellwoods Park could damage the tree's branches or root system if the city doesn't act quickly, says Adam Wynne of the Parkdale Village/Sunnyside Historical Society.

"To have an American elm this size in downtown Toronto is incredibly rare and is, I think, worthy of protection," he said. "It's like finding a woolly mammoth in downtown Toronto."

For years, Wynne says the city has ignored his efforts to have the tree given special protection via a heritage designation.

It is more important than ever to protect the elm tree on Fennings Street, north of Queen, Wynne said, because more than 90 per cent of the deciduous trees died off by the 1960s because of Dutch elm disease.

"It's absolutely magnificent," Wynne said. "It's loved by people all around this area."

In an email to CBC Toronto, city staff say they're monitoring the elm and treating it to ensure it doesn't develop Dutch elm disease. However, staff in the urban forestry department say they've never been asked by anyone in the community for the elm to be formally recognized as a heritage tree through Forests Ontario. 

Wynne disputes that, saying that over the course of several years, and as recently as last February, he's asked the city's heritage planning department to have the Fennings Street elm designated an Ontario Heritage Act (OHA) heritage tree — a more direct route than through Forests Ontario — and those requests have been ignored.

CBC Toronto has viewed multiple emails from Wynne to the city, which received replies thanking him for his input. The city has not yet responded to CBC Toronto inquiries asking them to address Wynne's concerns.

Only 15 trees have heritage status in Toronto, according to the city's website. But this elm could be the 16th. Since CBC Toronto first asked, city staff say they have now applied to Forests Ontario to have the tree recognized. 

With status, a tree is protected by the city's tree bylaw from being damaged or removed without council's approval. However, the city could make this designation itself through the OHA directly, without needing to wait on Forests Ontario.

According to the city's website, a heritage tree must be at least one of the following:  

The Fennings Street elm ticks several of those boxes, according to Robert Sysak, executive director of the West Queen West BIA.

"It's just part of the neighbourhood, part of the memories," said Sysak, who spent his childhood in the area.