Coquitlam residents now have more options for dealing with chafer beetle-infested lawns on city boulevards next to their homes.
Low shrubs, flowers and grass are permitted, said Mark Zaborniak, the city’s manager of design and construction, provided they do not affect sight lines or interfere with parking or the movement of pedestrians. Materials that do not attract chafer beetles, like bark mulch, are also permitted.
“There was some question about what people could and couldn’t do,” he said. “We are just clarifying that you can use shrubs, you can use rocks of a certain size, you can still use grass.”
The boulevards are pieces of land between the sidewalk and the street that are owned by the city but must be maintained by homeowners.
Zaborniak said with the proliferation of the chafer beetle, residents have been asking what they can do to make their streets look nicer.
But there are some plantings that are prohibited on city boulevards. Food crops, like berries and fruits, are not allowed because they attract bears and wildlife, and invasive plants and noxious weeds are also forbidden.
Planting or removing trees requires permission from the parks and recreation department, and shrubs should be maintained to a maximum height of 0.9 m.
• For a list of what is and is not allowed to be planted on boulevards in Coquitlam, go to www.coquitlam.ca/boulevard or email epw@coquitlam.ca.
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