Hedging is rampant in the City of North Vancouver.
There are approximately 3,000 hedges, retaining walls, decks and sheds that encroach onto city-owned streets and boulevards, and the willingness to trim those hedges and remove those structures has plummeted, according to a city staff report.
In 2015, 52 per cent of homeowners complied with city requests to remove various encroachments. Compliance dipped to 36 per cent in 2016 and – as of September 2017 – willingness to respect city property dropped to 15 per cent.
The city classifies 266 of the cases as severe enough to be considered Level 3, meaning the encroachment obstructs the sidewalk or limits visibility at an intersection.
Staff anticipate they can only remove between five and 10 encroachments each year, meaning it will take seven to 10 years to eliminate the most severe encroachments “if no new Level 3 encroachments are identified.”
“That, to me, is unacceptable,” responded Coun. Pam Bookham, who said she was “amazed, shocked (and) dismayed” to discover so many encroachments and such a meagre rate of compliance.
The city needs an: “accelerated plan to address those encroachments that are considered serious, primarily because they affect safety,” Bookham said.
Staff’s plan represents a “happy medium,” according to Coun. Craig Keating, who encouraged resolving the issue through discussion.
Property owners are encouraged to maintain city-owned boulevards in “some kind of esthetically pleasing fashion,” Keating pointed out.
“Unless and until the city wants to take its own entire responsibility for all those lands that it owns . . . I think we should work in a co-operative way.”
The encroachments can also be costly. City staff attributed a $65,000 cost overrun on the East Keith Road segment of the Green Necklace to “resolving encroachment related issues.”
City staff requested $50,000 in the city’s 2018 budget for a “landscape encroachment management program,” explaining that limited enforcement has led to more encroachments and severe impacts.
In the case of encroachments, the city sends a letter requesting compliance to the property owner in question, warning that they can remove the encroachment 30 days after the letter’s delivery.
“Because of limited staff time . . . there are rarely repercussions for property owners who do not comply,” the report noted.
The city’s management program could stand to be a bit more aggressive, according to Mayor Darrell Mussatto.
“I’d like to see it accelerated just a little bit because in my world, the public realm is more important than the private realm,” he said.
However, some of those trespassing hedges add to the charm of a boulevard, Coun. Holly Back said.
“If they’re encroaching but they’re not a problem, what’s our concern?” she asked.
Coun. Don Bell requested a report on the success – or lack thereof – of the program in 2018.
“The ratio that they’ve had of voluntary compliance at 36 per cent is pathetic.”
Any hedge that spills onto the sidewalk needs to be cleaned up quickly, according to Bell.
“I think those need to be done and I don’t think we need to stretch those over 10 years,” he said.
Coun. Rod Clark noted the “considerable cost” taxpayers would face if the city tried to remove all the offending hedges and walls within the next 12 to 24 months.
Coun. Linda Buchanan did not attend the meeting.
