Boulevards: Balancing Safety with Beauty
We love our West Vancouver neighbourhoods with their beautiful landscaping and lush greenery that provides privacy for residents. In our climate, this vegetation grows quickly and can easily become a nuisance or hazard if not managed regularly.
Public Use
Boulevards are public spaces. They contain public infrastructure that the District is responsible for maintaining. Municipal staff need access to boulevards for many reasons, including:
- perform water /sewer utility work
- display regulatory signage
- construct or maintain infrastructure such as sidewalks
- pick up garbage and recycling
- maintain safe sightlines for vehicle traffic
- maintain safe pedestrian access to sidewalks
Rights and Responsibilities
Knowing the applicable bylaws is your responsibility. The Boulevard Bylaw allows residents to plant on boulevards, within specific guidelines, but it also makes boulevard care the responsibility of the adjacent property owner, even if it was already there when you moved in. It is a condition of using a boulevard under section 5.1 of the Boulevard Bylaw that the owner, at the owner’s sole expense, keeps the boulevard in a good and safe condition, including removing all litter and debris, pruning, trimming, mowing, weeding and any other activity necessary to maintain the condition required.
If the owner fails to maintain the boulevard and District staff identify a safety or accessibility issue, we will contact the resident to perform the required maintenance. If they do not do the work within the provided timeframe, the District may carry out the maintenance or removal at the cost of the owner. Please be aware that any vegetation trimming or removal work carried out by the District will be done for accessibility and not aesthetics. We recommend that residents regularly maintain boulevard landscaping to ensure they remain compliant with the Boulevard Bylaw and that the work is done to their preferences.
Learn about your rights and responsibilities regarding boulevards