Yes, that has been discussed here. Yet the one property got cleared in such a way that it was seen by at least the one party posting here to have been disruptive and detrimental to other people living there. Of course, other occupants of the apartments might have welcomed the change.
I don't think my landlord knows he's supposed to replace those removed trees with more trees. I did not know either. I doubt he would want to.
My personal view is that the common large native trees, such as Douglas-fir, Western Redcedar, and Western Hemlock, do not belong on any city lot. They are only appropriate where there is enough space for a group of trees so that they offer each other protection from strong winds. After all, their natural habitat is dense forest. Allowing such tall trees to grow unchecked on a city lot is an invitation to a disaster during a windstorm. There are plenty of smaller trees that can provide shade and cover for wildlife without being a windfall hazard. So I have no quarrel with those who cut down large trees in the Vancouver area. This whole area was clearcut over a century ago and is no longer appropriate habitat for the same trees that grew naturally here. As a gardener, I value sunshine over shade; and we get plenty of shade from the frequent cloud cover.
Yes, but we need biomass. Giant conifers are giant oxygen-factories, producing 12 months a year. Baby deciduous trees are not replacements. If people could see the oxygen being produced by a hundred-foot tree—supposing the oxygen could be dyed purple—they would be amazed. It would be a huge cloud of purple. And we breathe that stuff. It makes us feel alive, so to speak.
Apparently, Aesculus hippocastanus is not as common in Canada as in France: here, it's ubiquitous -well, it used to be. I remember shuffling my feet in the leaves on my way back from school, not to mention the various uses of conkers -to make puppets with matchsticks for instance, or use for ammos for our slings, or make "cobwebs" ;°) To me, it's really the tree that i associate with my childhood. But I said "used to be" because they've been suffering from various pests and diseases in the past years. At best, the leaves are almost as brown as in autumn from the beginning of summer, and more and more often, old, venerable trees have to be felled. In the town where I live, in the place where people used to play "pétanque" under the shade of these horse-chesnuts in the heat of the summer, the old trees have been replaced by young lime-trees... Well, at least, young people can perhaps gather the flowers to make herb-tea as was the custom in the countryside, but I think that older people will stick to red wine or "pastis" ;°)
Alas that is why the people whose views are enhanced always wrong their hands and say "What rascals could have done this while I slept?" I think there has never been a conviction under the by law although there have been a few well-publicized prosecutions.