The “lawn” arm of the law isn’t stopping dense grass and weeds from overtaking many boulevards across Flin Flon.
Despite a bylaw requiring residents to mow boulevards adjacent to their properties, the unsightly problem persists on a widespread scale.
Even a courteous reminder of the bylaw, by way of an Aug. 8 ad in this newspaper, has not produced the desired effect for city officials and many head-shaking residents.
“I am disappointed,” says Coun. Bill Hanson. “I drive around town and you’ll see six houses that have meticulously maintained their [grass] and then you’ll see one house in the middle that has foot-high grass, and it’s really frustrating.”
While Hanson believes some residents don’t care about mowing overgrown boulevards, he says others may be too busy, have physical limitations or simply not own a lawnmower.
“There’s probably a myriad of reasons,” he says. “It’s just too bad that people wouldn’t just step up to the plate and mow these things.”
In cases where a boulevard is too steep to accommodate a lawnmower, Hanson urges residents use a weed whacker to “just knock it down so it looks good.”
Enshrining
Council adopted the boulevard bylaw in July 2011, for the first time enshrining into law mandatory mowing of city-owned property.
If a homeowner refuses to comply, the city has the right to mow the boulevard itself and tack the cost onto the resident’s property tax bill.
The preamble of the bylaw states that “many boulevard areas in Flin Flon have grass that needs seasonal cutting” and that the city “does not have the resources to mow all boulevard areas as a free service to the public.”
At the time of its passage, Mayor George Fontaine defended the bylaw against critics who felt it was heavy-handed.
He said the goal is to make the community look nicer and save taxpayers the cost of hiring additional staff to maintain the boulevards.
While the city recently advertised the existence of the bylaw, Hanson says
he doesn’t think overgrown boulevards are
a worse problem now
than in years past.
Colin Craig, prairie director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, believes the bylaw is standard fare.
“My understanding is that in most cities, you have to cut that lawn,” Craig told The Reminder in a previous interview.
Craig thinks most people are okay with such bylaws and that those who aren’t need to consider the alternative.
“If they don’t cut the lawn, then the city’s going to have to pay someone to cut the lawn, and the city’s going to pass that cost on to taxpayers,” he said.
The city also recently issued a public notice reminding residents that trees and foliage are not allowed to hang over onto sidewalks and obstruct the path of pedestrians.
