City of Calgary Community Maintenance

[Ferarri]

Just wanted to get people’s thoughts/vent about the City of Calgary maintenance responsibilities for communities. I live in a NW community that was built in 2012 and the state of the community has decreased significantly in recent years. The community honestly looks like a ghetto with weeds everywhere, dead trees and gravel medians.

I’ve reached out to my councilor on several occasions and well receptive to the issues, there doesn’t seem to be much done to rectify the problems. Last year they removed some dead trees but that was about it. My biggest point of frustration is the medians which barely have grass anymore. It’s just gravel and patchy weeds.

The City has mentioned that weed maintenance, such as dandelions, is no longer treated as it is not a noxious. Others and I in the community are extremely frustrated, and like many Calgarians, property taxes rise year after year, yet the community looks horrible. If you drive around other NW areas, they seem to be much more manicured.

Any recommendations at this point? The standard answer is to call 311 and report problem areas, however, the entire neighborhood is a problem and past attempts with 311 have been useless. We also pay an annual HOA fee, but median maintenance (aside from flower beds) is not part of their mandate. It’s getting to be really frustrating to have to look at the state of the community. Not sure what else to do at this point or if we are just going to have to accept that this is the standard from the City.

[Jiri Hrdina]

How much of it falls to individual home owners v. the city. Is the state of the community really about the public areas v. the state of individual homes and their yards/fences/etc?

(not a loaded question, sincerely interested in your take on that as I see in most areas, it really comes down to the individual home owners).

I'm also a hypocrite because I hate maintenance work. But now I live in a townhome complex where I don't have to worry about it.

[vegasbound]

Is the city responsible or is the community association responsible? I ask because in Douglasdale, the community association is responsible and they contract it out to a landscaping company. Last year they were awful on starting it wasn't until I got ahold of the landscaping company that something got done and they were out the next day....

[curves2000]

Originally Posted by Ferarri

Just wanted to get people’s thoughts/vent about the City of Calgary maintenance responsibilities for communities. I live in a NW community that was built in 2012 and the state of the community has decreased significantly in recent years. The community honestly looks like a ghetto with weeds everywhere, dead trees and gravel medians.

I’ve reached out to my councilor on several occasions and well receptive to the issues, there doesn’t seem to be much done to rectify the problems. Last year they removed some dead trees but that was about it. My biggest point of frustration is the medians which barely have grass anymore. It’s just gravel and patchy weeds.

The City has mentioned that weed maintenance, such as dandelions, is no longer treated as it is not a noxious. Others and I in the community are extremely frustrated, and like many Calgarians, property taxes rise year after year, yet the community looks horrible. If you drive around other NW areas, they seem to be much more manicured.

Any recommendations at this point? The standard answer is to call 311 and report problem areas, however, the entire neighborhood is a problem and past attempts with 311 have been useless. We also pay an annual HOA fee, but median maintenance (aside from flower beds) is not part of their mandate. It’s getting to be really frustrating to have to look at the state of the community. Not sure what else to do at this point or if we are just going to have to accept that this is the standard from the City.

Depending on how much you want to push this thing, keep up with the councilor and get other people in the community and his or her VOTERS to attend the meeting in a general place. Push hard for resolutions. You can also try going to the media as a local news story to embarrass the city into action.

I feel your frustration as I am dealing with something somewhat similar in my SW community of West Springs. Although I would not say it's looking like a ghetto, the amount of handcuffs the city has placed on basic things like flower beds, blvd maintenance, signage and more is laughable. Where I am getting frustrated is 2 of the walkways in the area are literally falling apart due to tree root's coming up, have drainage issues that turn them into skating rinks and are not shoveled. The local HOA has tried convincing the city to allow a contractor to clear the snow so it's at least decent but to no avail. This is a safety issue for members of the community and nobody has "jurisdiction" on how to properly address this and I am speaking as a fit male in my 30's, what about older seniors?. We can't be the only area with this problem but we are fed a LOT of garbage by the city about bike lanes, walkable cities and changing the world with the above by reducing climate change, yet we can't get the go ahead to clear walking paths of snow. Laughable.

The city does provide a decent level of service but in a lot of scenarios from management/council/admin, their sole job is to continue the theft, fraud and complete lack of workable action in helping the people who employ them

[DylanScores]

I’ve also noticed this one as well in my community in the deep SE.
lots of garbages strewn around and nobody seems to care. Our homeowners association mostly do a good job but people will always have something to say.
I personally think that our environment that we can control such as our yard is a reflection of our “pride of ownership”.
The city hasn’t been the same for many years now. Not sure why and how can we go back, if we can , to the good old days!

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

How much of it falls to individual home owners v. the city. Is the state of the community really about the public areas v. the state of individual homes and their yards/fences/etc?

(not a loaded question, sincerely interested in your take on that as I see in most areas, it really comes down to the individual home owners).

I'm also a hypocrite because I hate maintenance work. But now I live in a townhome complex where I don't have to worry about it.

A lot of people really don't seem to care about maintaining their property. One community I lived in had a landscape levy which was super cheap ($65 annually) and there were homeowners that didn't even want to pay that which to me is crazy shortsighted. New communities always start off nice as everything is new, clean, and vibrant but as original house owners sell and houses go through several different owners or properties turn into rentals that the community starts to slide as the new houses start to age and need work, yards that were once cared for by one owner, not taken care of with new owners, etc. This is why people move around in the city and your first house isn't usually your last.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by DylanScores

I’ve also noticed this one as well in my community in the deep SE.
lots of garbages strewn around and nobody seems to care. Our homeowners association mostly do a good job but people will always have something to say.
I personally think that our environment that we can control such as our yard is a reflection of our “pride of ownership”.
The city hasn’t been the same for many years now. Not sure why and how can we go back, if we can , to the good old days!

People who litter trip me out. I litter zero times per year and I always pick up garbage if I'm walking around. Not like one of those dudes with a garbage bag and a poker spending all my spare time picking up trash, but, like, walking through a parking lot I'll grab a slurpee cup or whatever on my way into Shoppers.

But who are these fk faces that are just tossing their garbage on the ground? It's such a bitch move. Totally unnecessary and makes anywhere look so trashy.

[Wormius]

What do you consider to be the City’s role, the community association’s role, and your role?


Our community associations has a modest membership fee and the funds generally used for playgrounds, maintaining the skating rink, flowers on boulevards, etc. How is the City handcuffing you from doing those things?

You can’t do much for crappy neighbours, or if your community association isn’t putting money into beautification projects. Try doing something yourself instead of complaining. Buy some hanging baskets with flowers and put them up around.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Sliver

People who litter trip me out. I litter zero times per year and I always pick up garbage if I'm walking around. Not like one of those dudes with a garbage bag and a poker spending all my spare time picking up trash, but, like, walking through a parking lot I'll grab a slurpee cup or whatever on my way into Shoppers.

But who are these fk faces that are just tossing their garbage on the ground? It's such a bitch move. Totally unnecessary and makes anywhere look so trashy.

Students are the worst. I've watched them eat a meal on someone's retaining wall, then just walk away dropping whatever was left in their hands. All the areas where they hang out between classes of after are full of trash. We never would have done that. I dunno. KIDS THESE DAYS!

[Ferarri]

I definitely see the homeowners playing an equal role in the state of the community. It should be a partnership where the city and the community work together. Unfortunately, like any neighborhood, people will chose to neglect their property and just don't care about maintenance.

I definitely don't have issues doing my part or taking on more to help enhance the community. I'm just trying to better understand what the city does and does not do. Just seems like double standards for certain communities. Perhaps they have a better association that takes on more maintenance but I honestly don't know.

[Dentoman]

Some communities (or portions of communities) are better maintained because they signed up for an extra tax levied by the city that ups the level of maintenance significantly. You need to collect a certain amount of homeowners signatures and submit it to the city and the tax is added to your property tax

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Ferarri

I definitely see the homeowners playing an equal role in the state of the community. It should be a partnership where the city and the community work together. Unfortunately, like any neighborhood, people will chose to neglect their property and just don't care about maintenance.

I definitely don't have issues doing my part or taking on more to help enhance the community. I'm just trying to better understand what the city does and does not do. Just seems like double standards for certain communities. Perhaps they have a better association that takes on more maintenance but I honestly don't know.

Yeah, I like your question because I'm not sure who is responsible for the boulevards and stuff in my community. I will say they are well maintained, the city cruises around with a watering truck watering boulevard trees, and the grass is kept to a nice standard.

If I'm paying extra on my taxes for that it's definitely worth it because I think you need that high standard in the common areas to encourage people to keep a high standard on their private property.

Hopefully you can sort this out. That's a shame to live in a nice place, but have the landscaping go to sht and then have lazy sacks let their properties fall apart around you.

I do think every new neighbourhood does take a dip at the 10-15 year mark before it's determined which way the community will go (continue its decline or move up). Like, at first everything is new, but you'll always have a good chunk of people that enjoy that new house maintenance holiday a little too long. Like, sorry, time to paint that fence again. Notice your paint flaking off around your windows? Scrape and repaint, please. Etc. Etc. If enough people start looking after stuff, you're in great shape. If everyone is just like, fk it, time to move.

[psyang]

A few years ago our community added a landscaping levy (paid through our taxes) which is used to help beautify the community. If I recall, it was added as a question in the municipal election, passed, and we started seeing flowers/extra maintenance on medians and key intersections.

[Fuzz]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ifF5fJECqpYScA4S9


I've always wondered who is responsible for things like these walls. Is that an HOA thing, or does it get transferred to the home owner? I can't imagine the city is maintaining them.

[Muta]

I'd prefer the city to start focusing on installing drought-resistant, low maintenance landscaping where possible, as well as installing more tree canopy. There's some amazing alternative solutions to grass out there that can include - certain local plant varieties that look great and eventually require less water (perennials, Karl Foerster feather reed grass), plant density, mulch/gravel/stone, porous hardscaping, ornamentals, rain and water capture features, etc. Boulevards and medians would be perfect for native prairie grasses - they did this on Bow Trail a couple years ago and it looked great.

[puffnstuff]

I think a lot of maintenance done or not done to houses/fences/yards/snow removal is dependent on who lives there, the owner or a renter.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Sliver

But who are these fk faces that are just tossing their garbage on the ground?

I did some volunteer highway cleanup last week. If my 3km sample size of a road just outside of Calgary is any indication, 40% are Kokanee drinkers, 30% are Keystone drinkers, 29% are Tim Hortons drinkers, and 1% are fancy-pants Sapporo drinkers.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Muta

I'd prefer the city to start focusing on installing drought-resistant, low maintenance landscaping where possible, as well as installing more tree canopy. There's some amazing alternative solutions to grass out there that can include - certain local plant varieties that look great and eventually require less water (perennials, Karl Foerster feather reed grass), plant density, mulch/gravel/stone, porous hardscaping, ornamentals, rain and water capture features, etc. Boulevards and medians would be perfect for native prairie grasses - they did this on Bow Trail a couple years ago and it looked great.

Not just any grass - Karl. Foerster.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Muta

I'd prefer the city to start focusing on installing drought-resistant, low maintenance landscaping where possible, as well as installing more tree canopy. There's some amazing alternative solutions to grass out there that can include - certain local plant varieties that look great and eventually require less water (perennials, Karl Foerster feather reed grass), plant density, mulch/gravel/stone, porous hardscaping, ornamentals, rain and water capture features, etc. Boulevards and medians would be perfect for native prairie grasses - they did this on Bow Trail a couple years ago and it looked great.

Nooooooooo

Only use mulch if you're lipstick-on-a-pigging your the POS house you're flipping.

That stuff looks great and smells awesome during the first year (so long as it isn't too windy as it starts blowing around). Then it gets sun bleached and looks like ass forever more. It's not some cheap hack to xeriscaping. It looks awful the very next year and just goes downhill from there.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Nooooooooo

Only use mulch if you're lipstick-on-a-pigging your the POS house you're flipping.

That stuff looks great and smells awesome during the first year (so long as it isn't too windy as it starts blowing around). Then it gets sun bleached and looks like ass forever more. It's not some cheap hack to xeriscaping. It looks awful the very next year and just goes downhill from there.

You top up mulch every year. A bag or two for a flower bed and keep up on spraying then pulling weeds. Mulch doesn’t have to look like #### and it’s far easier to keep up with than grass. I think the problem is people who hate yard work do to mulch and think it’s zero rather than low maintenance