Murray Wood: Who's hot and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list inclu...
Some people may be hoping for a green thumb for Christmas after Regina’s city council approved the framework of a new bylaw and regulations which give the city more teeth when it comes to overgrown lawns.
At Monday night’s council meeting it was approved.
Several councillors stood to speak positively about the moves.
“What I hear as a councillor is that ‘I keep up my yard, why are they not expected to do theirs,'” said councillor Lori Bresciani during the meeting.
“When I was driving in my area and it was, no word of a lie, the weeds were so high, I was surprised that it was allowed.”
The report from city administration said the city had seen in increase in complaints about unkempt and overgrown lawns. Councillors echoed that sentiment.
There are a few different changes to be made to the bylaw.
Some of them are for homeowners: Landscaping in front or side yards bordering public areas will have to be finished within two years of a residency permit being issued.
For landscaping already in place, any plant over 15 centimetres tall, not just grass, will be considered overgrownm, though this doesn’t apply to areas like cultivated gardens. Owners will also have to maintain the yard to prevent the erosion of soil from things like wind.
The bylaw is being expanded to include one- and two-unit dwellings in greenfield, infill, and brownfield developments.
Developers will also be required to submit a landscaping plan as part of the permit application for new developments.
The changes also give the city more authority to enforce the new bylaws.
Officers will be able to write tickets to the homeowner, instead of going straight from warnings to prosecution.
The changes allow the city to fix a property’s landscaping, add the cost of it (up to $400) and use the property’s tax bill, as per the provincial Weed Control Act.
Stu Niebergall, president and CEO of the Regina and Region Homebuilders’ Association, likes the new regulations.
When they were first proposed in the summer he thought the suggestions were going to be too strict, but after Monday’s meeting, he said the new changes strike a balance.
“In places that the rules are very prescriptive, what you tend to see is not interesting neighbourhoods. What you tend to get is the sameness on every single front yard in a block, that every front yard looks exactly the same, because that would be the most efficient way for the industry to deliver landscaping.”
