A Message from Mayor Stetski

Civic Pride

Spring has sprung,

The grass has ‘ris

I wonder where

Our Civic Pride is!

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve received two letters from visitors to Cranbrook concerned about what they perceive as “eyesores” in our city, one an abandoned building on Hwy 3 and the other a concern behind Joseph Creek village.  They both included a reference to “where is your Civic Pride.”  We’ve come an incredibly long way in improving the look of our city in the last decade but it got me thinking about what more we can all do. 

WHAT THE CITY CAN DO

The City’s Unsightly Premises Bylaw 3390

There are a couple of aspects to this bylaw:

5.01  No owner or occupier of real property within the City shall permit or allow their property to become, or remain, untidy or unsightly.

This provides for the opportunity for the City to get involved in extreme cases where complaints have been received from citizens.  The penalty can be up to $2000 for every offence.   The bylaw officer, instead of issuing a court summons for the offence, can also schedule a contractor to clean up the identified unsightly property at the expense of the property owner, with expenses billed to the owner and added to their taxes, if unpaid. The challenge for us is what does untidy or unsightly mean in the eyes of the Court?  Our bylaw officers have to use their judgement as to how serious the offence is.  Our initial approach is to contact the home or lot owner and ask them to voluntarily clean it up which is the best outcome for the owner, the neighbourhood and for Civic Pride.

5.02  Remedying Unsightliness on Real Property

(i)  Every owner or occupier of real property, or their agents, shall remove therefrom any accumulations of filth, discarded materials, rubbish, brush or other growth cuttings of any kind.

(ii) Every owner or occupier of real property, or their agents, shall CLEAR such property of any vegetation.

The word CLEAR means “to cut down or remove noxious weeds, vegetation or growth in a manner which prevents the ripening and scattering of their seeds and restricts their growth.”  Short version - vacant lots should not have Noxious Weeds like Knapweed or another 25 species defined in the bylaw, growing on them.

5.03  Infestation by Noxious or Destructive Insects

Property owners are required to prevent infestations by caterpillars or other noxious or destructive insects and to clear the property of such insects.

The city applies the same approach and penalties to 5.02 and 5.03 as outlined in 5.01.

Highway 3/95 Revitalization Committee

Another way the city is working on improving our community is through this committee.  This group of interested stakeholders is walking Hwy 3 from Elizabeth Lake to just past the eastern entrance overpass over a period of weeks and identifying potential improvements.  The list is long – vacant buildings, old signs, lots with invasive weeds, areas without landscaping, very visible dumpsters, an abandoned telephone booth, etc.  Once the group has firmed up an overall vision and categorized all of the possible short and long term improvements we will be inviting the public into the conversation, likely this fall, prior to finalizing an action plan.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

I’d like to ask you to perhaps go beyond keeping your own property looking good this summer.  Please consider:

·         Talking to a neighbour who perhaps is not keeping up their property and offer your help.  Say the Mayor sent you!  There may be a good reason why things aren’t looking so good and your help could be appreciated. 

·         Get together a neighbourhood work team and cut down the weeds in vacant lots after contacting the owner.  If you don’t know who owns the lot perhaps the city can help with identifying and contacting them.

·         Grab a garbage bag and a pair of gloves and go for a walk in your neighbourhood, a local park, or in the Cranbrook Community forest and pick up litter.  I do this from time to time – it’s a “feel-good” kind of thing to do!

·         Report unsightly properties or vacant lots with NOXIOUS (Invasive weeds) to the City Bylaw office at 250-489-9598.  Remember though that unsightliness is in the eye of the beholder and our Bylaw Officers may determine that pursuing a charge wouldn’t stand up in court.

·         If areas around bus stop benches need improving call 250-489-2412 or the city.

I know that you take pride in this community that we call Home.  I’d be interested in hearing other ideas that you may have on what the City, and citizens, can do to demonstrate to all visitors to Cranbrook that indeed we have great Civic Pride!

Mayor Wayne Stetski