The City of Victoria has approximately 300 kilometres of boulevards within its boundaries. Most boulevards are maintained by property owners who own the land next to the boulevard. Currently, the City offers a maintenance service to mow and edge boulevard grass.
A service fee is applied to a property owner's tax bill as a boulevard tax; this is adjusted each year to cover costs. The size of the boulevard that fronts a property determines the amount an owner will pay to have the City maintain the boulevard. Property owners can choose to opt in or out of this service.
Opting Out or In
If you are currently taxed for boulevard maintenance, you may choose to opt out and do the work yourself. You can also opt in to the program to have the City service your boulevard.
Opting out or in must be done on a per-block basis by presenting a signed petition to City Council.
A petition can be for both sides or just one side of a block. The petition must be signed by the registered owners representing at least 50 per cent of the properties and 50 per cent of the assessed value that would be subject to the boulevard tax. If more than one person owns a property, each registered owner must sign the petition.
If the petition meets the requirements, your property is then removed from or added to the Boulevard Taxation Program for the next calendar year.
Below is a petition form that you can use for opting out of or into the City's service:
Petition For Removal/Reinstatement Of Boulevard Maintenance Tax
Completed petitions should be e-mailed to parks@victoria.ca.
Edging
Each year, Parks staff spend part of the winter edging turf areas throughout the City. This maintains the width of Victoria's sidewalks and ensures curbs and gutters remain free of vegetation.
City crews also make sure that access covers for underground services in the boulevards are kept clear of turf and can be located by those who need to service utilities underground. Edging also helps the line/curb painting crews with their work.
Only taxed boulevards are edged and this service occurs every 3–4 years. Crews also edge traffic islands, medians, greenways, parks and parkettes.
Boulevard Gardening
Boulevard Gardening Guidelines were introduced in 2016 to help beginners and experts garden on City of Victoria boulevards. Learn more about where you can garden and the benefits of boulevard gardening on the Community Gardening page.