Regional District of Central Okanagan Bylaw No. 179 is a bylaw requiring property owners to prevent the growth of noxious weeds and tall grasses and to provide for the cutting or destruction of noxious weeds and tall grasses. It applies to all Regional District of Central Okanagan electoral areas, the City of Kelowna, District of West Kelowna, District of Lake Country and District of Peachland and is enforced by one full time and one part time, By-law Enforcement Officer.

• Noxious weeds are defined as any plants commonly known as weeds and all grasses must be kept under 8 inches in height.
• Bylaw requirements include cutting and mulching OR removal of all grasses and weeds that have been cut or otherwise destroyed.
• Dandelions are not considered to be weeds

For Roadside vegetation:

• In the Central Okanagan West Electoral Area, contact ARGO Maintenance at (250) 769-1397
• In the Central Okanagan East  Electoral Area (formerly Ellison/Joe Rich), contact ARGO Maintenance at (250) 765-3942.

You may view BYLAW NO. 179 here. Please note it is a consolidated bylaw, provided for convenience only. It is not the legal or correct version of the bylaw.

WHEN and HOW OFTEN CAN YOU REPORT A PROBLEM:

As soon as the growth height has exceeded 20.32 centimeters (8 inches) and as often as necessary during the season which is April 1 through to September 30th.

How to Register a Complaint

• Email  Jay.Jackson@cord.bc.ca
• Telephone - (250) 469-6218 (inspectors 24 hour voice mail) OR, during office hours, 8am-4PM call the Inspections Section at (250) 469-6211.
• It is helpful if you include any or all of the following:
  • civic address or best detailed description of problem location
  • any owner or occupier information (if known)
  • your specific concern
  • your name, address and phone number, so the inspector can contact you for further information (not mandatory, but helpful and is not given out)

Please note that the bylaw is not enforced pro-actively. Your complaint must be registered for each property, however, where a specific problem is reported, other properties nearby may be included for enforcement. Working farms are exempt from the provisions of the bylaw.

Become a Weed Warrior! 
 
The Regional District of Central Okanagan encourages you to help fight invasive weeds before they set their roots.  We've created a handy pamphlet with plenty of information that will help you 'Be a Weed Warrior' and join the fight against pervasive predators such as Tansay Ragwort, Leafy Spurge, Puncturevine, Rush Skeltonweed and Yellow Starthistle.   We also encourage young people to pick up the charge by learning to identify weeds and help prevent their seedy spread throughout our region.  If you are interested in obtaining a Weed Warrior deck of playing cards, please contact our Noxious Weeds Bylaw Officer at 250-469-6218.

Follow these links for an Information Poster for young people and an Information Poster for Adults.  We also have prepared an Identification Poster that helps you identify dozens of invasive weeds!  You can download your own website resolution version here, or if you would like a higher resolution poster, please email our Noxious Weed Bylaw office.

An alert has been issued regarding the appearance of the invasive Puncturevine weed.  View a news release and photo here.

During the summer of 2004, public attention was drawn to the potential threat of an invasive weed moving into the Central Okanagan.  Tansy Ragwort has been found in the Chute Lake area.  Click here to learn more about the weed and how to identify it.

Other Legislation and Resources:

THE PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA requires all owners to control noxious weeds and lists specific weeds as noxious.

Click here for a link to the Provincial Weed Control Act.

Click here for a link to the Provincial Weed Control Regulation.

The Open Learning Agency has developed a comprehensive resource GUIDE TO WEEDS IN BC with the cooperation of the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries.  Information provided at this site includes:

• Identification
• Impact
• Legal status
• Habitat, ecology, biology & distribution
• Management strategy

Click here for a link to the WEEDS BC website.