Maintaining your property has a positive impact on you and your community. It keeps your neighbourhood and our community clean, attractive and welcoming. In the Community Standards Bylaw that came into effect on July 1, 2024, there are updated standards around property maintenance so we can all do our part in being good neighbours!

Residents are responsible for maintaining their properties, from mowing their lawns, cutting overgrown vegetation, shoveling sidewalks, and preventing situations that may be a nuisance to their neighbours.

Yard maintenance

Residents are responsible for keeping grass and weeds shorter than 15 cm on their property. They also must prevent the spread of weeds, and destroy or control noxious weeds included in Alberta’s Weed Control Regulation.

As of July 1, 2024, residents are allowed to have naturalized yards in Spruce Grove.

Yard and property upkeep

To help keep our neighbourhoods clean, safe and enjoyable, property owners have a responsibility to keep their properties, as well as the alley that abuts their property, tidy and free from nuisances.

A tidy property is free from an accumulation of items, in particular pet waste, yard waste, bottles, furniture and car parts. Likewise, refrigerators or freezers, or any similar appliances, should not be placed outside your home.

A nuisance is something that is detrimental to your neighbours, or may annoy them, and should be prevented. Examples include:

• Grass and weeds taller than 15 cm
• Damaged fencing
• Derelict vehicles
• Messy compost heaps
• Noxious weeds
• Offensive odours
• Significant physical deterioration of a structure
• Excessive accumulation of items

A detailed list of all nuisances can be found in the Community Standards Bylaw.

Boulevard maintenance

Residents are responsible for weeding and mowing grass boulevards at the front of their property. If on a corner lot, residents are also responsible for weeding and mowing boulevards along the side of their properties all the way to the curb of the road.

Boulevards must be kept free of landscape developments except in the case of an approved boulevard garden.

Vegetation and landscape obstructions

Property owners should remove any landscape or vegetation obstructions. This could include trees, shrubs or any other type of vegetation that obstructs sidewalks, alleys, or otherwise impairs visibility required for safe traffic flow. Vegetation should also not encroach onto neighbouring properties.

Winter sidewalk maintenance

Property owners are required to remove snow and ice from public sidewalks adjacent to their property, including boulevard sidewalks, within 48 hours of a snowfall. This includes in the front of the lot, and if on a corner lot, the side. Read more about Property Owner Responsibilities.

Uninhabited buildings

If a building normally intended for human habitation is uninhabitable, the building owner should ensure that any door or window in the building is covered with a solid piece of wood. The requirements for the installation are outlined in Section 9.9 of the Community Standards Bylaw.

Frequently asked questions