Winnipeggers warned to keep their grass short or face fines

Arturo Chang · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 20, 2025 8:35 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

The City of Winnipeg is informing residents not to fto the writer turn nether their feet — at slightest not excessively long.

City bylaws call for turf writer to beryllium nary longer than 15 centimetres (six inches) and successful the Waverley West neighbourhood there's been a crackdown connected scofflaws.

Coun. Janice Lukes said her unit has been patrolling neighbourhoods to spot if homes are compliant. Last week, they issued about 70 warnings.

"It's an acquisition campaign, really," Lukes said.

Some residents "maybe they ne'er had a location before, they've lived successful apartments, aren't alert of this. So we pass and past hopefully they'll chopped it," she said.

The city's complaint-based writer enforcement programme gives residents 7-10 days aft a informing to comply and chopped it, oregon look a fine.

The magnitude of the good is the outgo of the labour it takes to chopped and cleanable up the grass. The disbursal is added to the homeowner's spot taxation bill.

The metropolis besides has the option, nether the Neighbourhood Liveability Bylaw to instrumentality a homeowner to tribunal for a punishment to beryllium determined by a judicial justness of the peace.

More than 600 warnings person been issued so acold this year, based connected 2,000 complaints. Fifty-five person been enforced by metropolis staff.

"It's each astir neighbourhood liveability successful an municipality environment," Lukes said. "Sometimes they're up to the waist, they're up to the shoulder, that's not acceptable successful an municipality environment."

Waverley West residents Leanne and Dan Granger agree but question wherefore the metropolis penalizes homeowners erstwhile immoderate of the turf the municipality is liable for goes unmanicured.

"If they can't chopped their ain writer and they're fining america to chopped our grass, it's benignant of [a] treble standard," Dan Granger said.

Lukes said determination are highest periods wherever the metropolis whitethorn not beryllium capable to support up with the magnitude of writer that indispensable beryllium cut.

The metropolis is liable for boulevards much than six metres (20 feet) wide. Homeowners are liable for trimming the ones nether that width.

'Why would you care?'

Other Winnipeggers would similar the metropolis to enactment retired of their turf.

Wolseley resident Marlena MacArthur said determination are respective overgrown lawns connected her thoroughfare — including her own.

"My adjacent doorway neighbour has a garbage pile. [I] ne'er kick astir that. But definite radical who are gardeners volition kick astir different people's grass," she said.

 "I'm not going to justice however idiosyncratic grows their lawn. As agelong arsenic they're maintaining it, not hurting anybody, wherefore would you care?"

The Grangers said they would besides ne'er archer connected their neighbours for breaking the writer bylaw, saying it lone leads to pointless arguments.

"[You're] conscionable causing trouble," Dan Granger said.

Daniel McIntyre Coun. Cindy Gilroy believes the bylaw should beryllium revisited and perchance retooled.

A lot of residents similar earthy landscapes implicit manicured lawns due to the fact that it protects biodiversity, she said, adding the metropolis has bigger priorities connected which to focus.

"Where I truly privation america to truly enactment our efforts is astir places that person a batch of garbage physique up — vacant and derelict buildings," she said.

"I'm seeing a batch much vacant and derelict vehicles near successful yards. They pull mice and each that stuff."