Amended lot maintenance standards

Thank you to everyone who shared their feedback on this project. On April 25, 2022, Council approved report COM2022-016 (report begins on page 80), and approved amending By-law 2011-123 to include additional allowances for naturalized areas on private lots and increased grass height limits in an effort to support the native pollinator population. The amending by-law (begins on page 64) was approved by Council and came into effect on May 9, 2022. It includes a definition for Naturalized Area: a landscape area that has been allowed to establish vegetation through a combination of natural regeneration and deliberate plantings of native and non-native species of wildflowers, annuals, perennials, shrubs and grasses or a combination thereof to emulate a natural area monitored and maintained by the property owner. The following standards will now apply to naturalized areas:

every owner or occupant shall ensure that the Naturalized Area does not encroach onto any adjacent property;
every owner or occupant shall ensure that the Naturalized Area is maintained in a manner that does not present an unkempt or unsightly appearance;
every owner or occupant shall maintain a Buffer Strip around any Naturalized Area; and
no owner or occupant shall permit a Naturalized Area to be located within a daylight triangle or sightline triangle, as defined in the Zoning By-law and/or Fence By-law, unless such Naturalized Area complies with the maximum height regulations in the Zoning By-law and/or Fence By-law.

The amended maximum height for turf grass is 20 centimetres (8 inches), and the amendment also includes the requirement for and definition of Buffer Strip: a border of Turf Grass, Ground Cover or vegetation that delineates a Naturalized Area, measuring at least 1.0 metres (3 feet) in width and not exceeding 20 centimetres (8 inches) in height.

For the full details on the amendment, please refer to the amending by-law Council report (begins page 64).