Help Scenic Acres turn over a new LEAF!
Information Session: March 19, 2012 immediately following SACA Annual General Meeting at the community centre from 7 – 9 pm. Committee volunteers will be on hand to provide update on project and answer questions.
A survey of Scenic Acres residents was distributed to gather opinions on the need to adopt a new approach to the maintenance of public green spaces in our community. The survey link was:
- sent via email to current and past community association members
- posted on the SACA website
- included in multiple LEAF articles published in the Scenic Review
- emailed by individuals to friends and neighbors
- posted on the SACA Facebook page
- tweeted through the SACA LEAF Twitter account
A paper copy of the survey was also available at the community association office for those without internet access.
A total of 339 residents responded to the survey and provided a variety of opinions and suggestions. The majority of responses supported the goals of this initiative though a number of questions regarding services included, concerns over costs and alternatives considered were posed by residents.
To address your questions, we created a detailed list of answers to allow all residents to be informed of the details of this initiative. If you have questions not addressed, plan on attending the information session at the SACA AGM or the open house scheduled for April 28th. Or forward questions by email to projleaf@telus.net.
Key highlights of the survey results are provided below. To view a detailed summary of the responses, download the Scenic Acres Leaf Survey- Summary results PDF report.
- 68% indicated the appearance of the community needed improvement
- 72% felt current green space maintenance was inadequate
- 78% thought the current appearance had negative consequences
- 83% thought boulevard areas need immediate improvement
- 77% thought community entrances need immediate improvement
- 82% were willing to pay to have maintenance of green spaces improved
- 68% indicated willingness to sign a petition to support a special levy.
Below is a sampling of comments taken directly from the survey. Support for the initiative appears to be quite strong in the community. However, there are differing views on what needs to happen and the best way to allocate funds. The City of Calgary is very specific on what the community can do with the funds raised through this special levy, therefore, some of the good ideas provided are outside the scope of LEAF.
- thank you for doing this…
- Great initiative.
- More work should be done on neighborhood parks rather than street blvds. A few flowers can make a huge difference but we must remember that our plants need care and water in this area and not ignore the sprinkler systems that have not been maintained.
- Is this One vote per property owner or does every one who lives in Scenic Acres get to vote…. Are all property owners forces to pay this levy or are there exemptions. What about the Condos?? Maybe you start a Q&A section in the local Community Newsletter.
- great initiative!
- Take in consideration that this levy will be open to anual increases that it will bring financial stress on lower or fixed income familes. Why not the concerned residents organize a volunteer group that will do this inprovement around their homes and not try to pull all the neighbourhood in a levy system.
- We should change the name of Scenic Acres to Dandelion Central after last summer. It was atrocious and, if we don’t look after weeds in public places, it becomes a losing battle on our own lawns.
- I look forward to reading about this inititiative in our community paper. Thank you for your involement and dedication.
- We already pay a yard maintenance fee and do not want another added to our taxes.
- If the committee fails to get the necessary support to implement the levy, an alternative may be to somehow have community reps participate in the planning or be involved in supervising the projects/maintenance that is done..
- This is long overdue. Thank you for taking on this initiative. Our community has been neglected for a long period of time. Just look at the half empty boulevards where trees have died and never been replaced. Or then there’s the very poor quality small trees that they’ve been planting over the last 20 years on the boulevard near the school. How about some spring flowers proudly displayed at entrances to our community. We don’t even come close to areas like Citadel etc.,
- Please drop the whole thing. Why do some people continually seek to extract money out of their neighbours pockets.? If you wish to spend your own money or do fund raisers etc, fine but please stop trying to impose your particular view and position on other people. . Our neighbourhood looks good…
- Although I would be willing to pay a annual fee for improving the look of our community, I would not be happy if the money was spent to imrove the entrances and not the public spaces within in the community.
- Thank you for doing this. I believe that people who live on the entrances/blvds should/could easily look after the tree and grass infront of their houses. For God sake paint your fences!
- We back on to a green space…For about 10 years, the bushes surrounding the seating area have been wildly overgrown and many are now dead… It is an eyesore… This is a perfect example of why we need a LEAF iniative. There are many little areas around Scenic Areas that suffer from the same fate…
- Thanks for your efforts. We really need an overhaul.
- Thanks for providing the opportunity to suggest improvements to our neighbour hood. I moved to Scenic acres in1996 when it was quite attractive. I have witnessed the lost of pride in our community.
- If there was a budget for flowers near community entrances it would enhance the appearance.
- There are many ways to have a beautiful community-this is not one of them and is unsustainable.
- I think this is a fantastic initiative.
- The boulevards & trees are in very poor shape. We have little to no flowers in our boulevards like the other communities….
- I live on the south side and feel that everything is just fine around there. I just don’t see any need to put money into what is already a very pleasant community – the best one in Calgary of course! The grass at the two entrances is always kept nice and the sign is still in good condition. I like that S Acres has a very natural look – grass and trees – and with the excellent architecture of our houses, in my opinion, nothing more is needed.
- Thank you for spearheading this.
- The most important issue is the need for homeowners to maintain their fences on their own property.
- Thank you for taking the time to do this.
- I don’t think it is very fair to ask homeowners in any community to pay any type of levy. The property taxes that are paid should allow for the coverage of any “appearances” that need to be upgraded…Taxes should be covering this!!!
- Instead of immediately knocking on doors, why not present an info session and have people sign a petition first. Personally I think this will have the most impact. The persons that truly believe in this will come forward first.
- Good idea! We look forward to seeing the improvements to be made
- agree that other neighborhood garden areas look nice however I DO NOT agree that this is the right practice. Our areas should be planted with perennials NOT flowers we need to replace 2-3 times during a growing season….How about a variety of plants that flower year after year?More bark mulch around the trees on the boulevard and middle island, not grass that constantly needs mowing…
It appears support for the initiative is strong among Scenic Acres residents. As a result, the volunteer committee is moving forward with plans to gain support from Scenic Acres taxpayers through a local improvement levy petition. Starting in late May, volunteers will be seeking your support and the signature of taxpayers on a petition that will be submitted to the City of Calgary for approval.
Wondering how you can you get involved? At this time Project LEAF has a organizing committee of 7, but we need to have more people involved including volunteers to knock on a few doors and collect home owners signatures. If you would be interested in helping out please e-mail projleaf@telus.net. If you have already volunteered through the survey or through the community association, the volunteer coordinator will be in touch with you shortly. A listing of volunteer roles can be found by clicking on this link Scenic Acres LEAF Volunteer Positions.
This is all about our community! We thank you in advance for helping Scenic Acres turn over a new LEAF! To contact Project LEAF directly e-mail: projleaf@telus.net
