Property maintenance and standards
It is the responsibility of the property owner to maintain all aspects of their property to prevent it from becoming an unsightly premise. It is also important to maintain sidewalks by clearing the snow and ensuring they remain free of debris and vegetation overgrowth. Just like sidewalks, basic maintenance of street trees and landscaping between the property and roadway (the boulevard) is also the responsibility of the property owner benefiting from that infrastructure.
What you need to know:
- Residents and businesses are responsible for basic maintenance of the boulevards adjacent to their properties. This includes watering plants and snow clearing.
- Please trim vegetation to allow safe access to sidewalks, bikeways, and roadways. Intersection sightlines and on-street parking spots cannot be obstructed as per the Traffic Bylaw (Sight Triangle). NOTE: street tree pruning is handled by the City. Visit our Urban Trees page for advice on tree care. Contact our Parks team to request a tree care visit if there’s a broken branch or other pruning they can take care of.
- Major repairs to sidewalks or gravel drainage infrastructure and activities like street tree pruning require City authorization. Avoid having to re-do work if it doesn’t meet City standards for safety or drainage.
- Trees and other plants generally need water once a week (unless on drip irrigation) to be healthy. Avoid over watering so plants don’t suffer from the sudden loss of water if water restrictions are needed during a drought.
- Drought-tolerant, low growing plants can be planted to replace lawn. Visit the Okanagan Xeriscape Associations Plant list for ideas.
- New street trees can be requested for your boulevard if you’d like to have more shade to protect your property or vehicles from our hot summers. Contact Parks (250-469-8503 or email [email protected]) to find out more.
- Landscaping can only be added to a boulevard if it does not interfere with drainage or subsurface utility infrastructure. For example, ditches and soakaway gravel areas cannot be altered without City approval. Street sweepers and snow plows must operate in these areas so no decorative rock or rock mulch can be placed within 0.6m of gravel roadway edges (without a curb).
- Trees, shrubs, or decorative landscaping should not be installed within the roadway or in authorized on-street parking areas.
- Private property does not extend all the way to the roadway in most locations so be familiar with where your property line is. Keep all structures, fences, and hedges within the boundary.
- Prevent the accumulation of garbage, rubbish and offensive/unwholesome materials on your property.
- Do not store derelict vehicles of any sort on your property.
- All aspects of private property must remain free of graffiti.
- Snow Removal – residents are responsible for ensuring the public sidewalks in front of their property is cleared 24hr after each snow fall.
- Please do not plow snow from private property onto the public roadways. Put shoveled snow onto your yard as any extra snow on roads and sidewalks can be hazardous for pedestrians and vehicles.
Property Standards Compliance Team (PSCT):
The PSCT is a multi-agency enforcement team mandated to enhance health, safety, and security of communities, including sense of safety, by addressing properties that:
- Have a significant detrimental impact to the surrounding area;
- Pose a risk to tenants and surrounding residents;
- Have created significant workload to City Services; and
- Traditional attempts by any one City department has not resulted in changes or improvements.
How to report:
- To report unsightly premises, tree and shrub encroachment, or non-shoveled sidewalk, please call 250-469-8686
- For concerns regarding snow routes and/or plowing, please submit a service request or contact Civic Operations at 250-469-8600
Need more information:
Bylaw Services
250-469-8686
[email protected]
Reference Bylaw(s):
Traffic Bylaw no 8120
Maintenance of Boulevards Bylaw No. 12744
