Excavation in Surrey
From City Centre, developing as a transit-oriented downtown, to Cloverdale, Newton and South Surrey. Surrey’s soil, erosion and road-use rules are precise — here is what they say.
About Surrey
- Surrey is made up of six communities — Cloverdale, Fleetwood, Guildford, Newton, South Surrey and Whalley — with City Centre developing as a transit-oriented downtown. Source: City of Surrey: Our communities
- Surrey’s ALR covers 9,230 hectares, nearly 30% of the city. Source: City of Surrey: Parkland in Surrey’s ALR (PDF, 2022)
- Major City projects underway or in development include the 72 Avenue extension from 152 Street to Highway 15, Centre Block in City Centre and the Newton Community Centre. Source: City of Surrey news, July 2026
Local rules that affect excavation
Checked October 2026. Each point below links to Surrey’s own bylaw or web page. Bylaws change, so confirm with Surrey before work starts. General information, not legal advice.
Soil deposit and removal
- Soil Conservation and Protection By-law No. 16389: soil removal or deposit may only occur after a permit is issued. Source: By-law No. 16389
- Outside the ALR, work under 15 m³ and under 0.5 m deep is exempt. From 15 to 100 m³ (no deeper than 0.5 m, in a 12-month period) the City must be notified and give written approval. Inside the ALR the exemption is under 100 m³, under 1,000 m² and under 0.10 m deep, and no permit issues without Agricultural Land Commission approval. Source: By-law No. 16389
- The exemptions do not apply on steep slope hazard lands without prior written approval. Source: By-law No. 16389
Erosion and sediment control
- Erosion and Sediment Control Bylaw, 2024, No. 21181: an ESC authorization is needed for construction on land with a developable area of 0.4 hectares or more, and for underground parking excavations deeper than 3 m below the lowest pre-construction grade. Source: By-law No. 21181
- The City says no construction site may discharge more than 75 mg/L total suspended solids above background levels. Source: City of Surrey: Soil and erosion
Tree protection
- Tree Protection Bylaw No. 16100 protects trees of any species with a DBH of 30 cm or more (some species smaller). A protection barrier at least 1.2 m high is required when excavation, demolition or construction within 10 m of a protected tree could harm it, and no building or demolition permit issues until it is approved. Source: By-law No. 16100
Work in the road
- By-law No. 13007: no one may excavate in or under a highway without a City Road and Right-of-Way Use Permit. A traffic obstruction permit is needed to obstruct or interfere with traffic on a highway or lane. Source: By-law No. 13007
Streams and slopes
- The Sensitive Ecosystems development permit area covers properties within 50 m of the top of bank of fish-bearing (Class A, A/O and B) streams; a development permit is needed before soil disturbance, land alteration or clearing. Hazard lands include slopes steeper than 20%. Source: City of Surrey: Development permit areas
Provincial and federal rules apply too
Municipal bylaws sit on top of provincial and federal rules: BC 1 Call locates and WorkSafeBC requirements on every dig, the Agricultural Land Commission for fill in the ALR, soil relocation notifications for some commercial and industrial sites, and the Water Sustainability Act and Fisheries Act near streams. Our Excavation permits checklist for BC projects links each one to its source.
PCE in Surrey
PCE is based in Langley and works across Metro Vancouver. Services we take on here:
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