{"title":"McBride unsightly property rules and how to report","question":"How do I report an unsightly or overgrown property in McBride?","slug":"unsightly-property","place":{"path":"ca/bc/mcbride","name":"McBride","region":{"code":"bc","name":"British Columbia"},"country":{"code":"ca","name":"Canada"}},"category":{"slug":"bylaws-and-complaints","name":"Bylaws, noise and complaints"},"owner":"municipal","owner_label":"Municipal","owner_body":{"name":"Village of McBride","url":"https://mcbride.ca"},"short_answer":"In McBride, report an unsightly property to the Village Office by phone, email or the Report a Concern form. The Maintenance Bylaw lets the Village order the owner to tidy up within 14 days, and do the work at the owner's cost if it is not done.","aliases":["unsightly property mcbride","overgrown yard mcbride","messy property complaint mcbride","maintenance bylaw mcbride"],"cost":"No ticket amount is posted. Court fine up to $2,000 plus costs; each day is a new offence. Costs the Village incurs cleaning up are billed to the owner.","how_long":"The owner has 14 days from the written notice to tidy up, and 7 days to appeal to Council.","where":[{"type":"phone","label":"Village Office","value":"250-569-2229"},{"type":"email","label":"Village Office","value":"mcbride@mcbride.ca"},{"type":"in_person","label":"Village Office","value":"100 Robson Centre, 855 SW Frontage Rd., McBride, BC V0J 2E0","note":"Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Wednesday 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; closed statutory holidays"}],"documents":[],"forms":[{"title":"Maintenance Bylaw No. 706, 2010 (PDF), Village of McBride","url":"https://mcbride.civicweb.net/document/3537/"},{"title":"Contact Us, Village of McBride","url":"https://mcbride.ca/municipal-services/contact-us"}],"related":[{"slug":"rv-boat-trailer-parking","title":"McBride RV, boat and trailer parking rules","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/mcbride/rv-boat-trailer-parking/"},{"slug":"bylaw-fines","title":"McBride bylaw fines and how tickets work","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/mcbride/bylaw-fines/"}],"nearby":[{"place":"ca/bc/valemount","name":"Valemount","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/valemount/unsightly-property/"},{"place":"ca/bc/quesnel","name":"Quesnel","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/quesnel/unsightly-property/"},{"place":"ca/bc/williams-lake","name":"Williams Lake","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/williams-lake/unsightly-property/"},{"place":"ca/bc/prince-george","name":"Prince George","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/prince-george/unsightly-property/"},{"place":"ca/bc/clearwater","name":"Clearwater","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/clearwater/unsightly-property/"},{"place":"ca/bc/100-mile-house","name":"100 Mile House","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/100-mile-house/unsightly-property/"}],"topic":{"title":"Unsightly property fines in British Columbia, by municipality","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/unsightly-property/"},"facts":{"what_counts":{"label":"What counts","value":"Property must not become unsightly: garbage, discarded material, appliances or woody debris; excess grass, bushes, trees or noxious weeds; outdoor construction material (unless a building permit is active or zoned commercial or industrial use); vehicle or equipment storage or repair outside a building or screened area (unless zoned for it); graffiti; unroadworthy vehicles.","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://mcbride.civicweb.net/document/3537/","title":"Maintenance Bylaw No. 706, 2010 (PDF), Village of McBride","section":"s. 2.8, 3.2","quotes":["UNSIGHTLY and UNSIGHTLINESS includes but is not limited to:","No owner or occupier of real property shall permit or cause that real property to become or remain UNSIGHTLY","The accumulation or excess growth of grasses, bushes, trees, NOXIOUS WEEDS, or other plants.","except where such activity is taking place entirely within a building or screened area designed for such purpose, or on properties zoned for such purposes."]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-08"}},"how_to_report":{"label":"How to report","value":"The bylaw does not say. The Village's contact page offers a \"Report a Concern\" form, the Village Office phone 250-569-2229 and mcbride@mcbride.ca.","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://mcbride.ca/municipal-services/contact-us","title":"Contact Us, Village of McBride","section":"Contact page","quotes":["Report a Concern","Contact Us 250-569-2229 mcbride@mcbride.ca"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-08"}},"process":{"label":"What happens next","value":"An authorized person (RCMP, bylaw officer, building inspector) may give a written notice to tidy within 14 days. The owner may appeal to Council within 7 days. After 14 days the Village may do the work at the owner's cost; unpaid costs go onto the property taxes as arrears if not paid by Dec. 31.","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://mcbride.civicweb.net/document/3537/","title":"Maintenance Bylaw No. 706, 2010 (PDF), Village of McBride","section":"s. 13.1, 13.2, 13.4, 13.6","quotes":["An AUTHORIZED PERSON may issue a written notice to the owner or occupier of the real property to remove, clean, or otherwise tidy the UNSIGHTLINESS within 14 days of the issuance of the written notice.","may appeal the written notice to the Council within 7 days of the issuance of the written notice.","If after 14 days following delivery of a notice and the work required to be performed by such notice remains either wholly or partially incomplete, the VILLAGE may"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-08"}},"fine":{"label":"Fine","value":null,"status":"unknown","reason":"not_published","note":"No ticket amount is posted for this bylaw.","sources":[]},"bylaw":{"label":"Bylaw","value":"Village of McBride Maintenance Bylaw No. 706, 2010.","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://mcbride.civicweb.net/document/3537/","title":"Maintenance Bylaw No. 706, 2010 (PDF), Village of McBride","section":"s. 1.0","quotes":["Village of McBride Maintenance Bylaw No. 706, 2010"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-08"}}},"facts_summary":{"total":5,"stated":4,"matched":4,"none":0,"unknown":1},"body_markdown":"## How it works\n\nThe Village's [Maintenance Bylaw 706](<https://mcbride.civicweb.net/document/3537/>) says property must not become unsightly. That covers garbage, discarded material, appliances or woody debris; excess grass, bushes, trees or noxious weeds; outdoor construction material (unless a building permit is active or the land is zoned commercial or industrial); vehicle or equipment storage or repair outside a building or screened area (unless zoned for it); graffiti; and unroadworthy vehicles.\n\n## Steps\n\n1. Report it to the Village. The bylaw does not say how, but the [Village contact page](<https://mcbride.ca/municipal-services/contact-us>) offers a \"Report a Concern\" form, the Village Office phone 250-569-2229 and mcbride@mcbride.ca.\n2. An authorized person (RCMP, bylaw officer or building inspector) may give the owner a written notice to tidy up within 14 days.\n3. The owner may appeal to Council within 7 days.\n4. After 14 days the Village may do the work at the owner's cost. Unpaid costs go onto the property taxes as arrears if not paid by December 31.\n\n## Good to know\n\n- The bylaw also bans nuisances, fouling drains and unmaintained fences, and requires snow and ice to be removed from roofs next to a highway.\n- No ticket amount is posted. The maximum court fine is $2,000 plus costs of prosecution, and each day is a new offence.","sources":[{"url":"https://mcbride.civicweb.net/document/3537/","title":"Maintenance Bylaw No. 706, 2010 (PDF), Village of McBride","accessed":"2026-11-08"},{"url":"https://mcbride.ca/municipal-services/contact-us","title":"Contact Us, Village of McBride","accessed":"2026-11-08"},{"url":"https://mcbride.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/108/","title":"Bylaw library, Village of McBride","accessed":"2026-11-08"}],"sources_read":"2026-11-08","review":{"status":"machine_checked","badge":"Checked against official text","label":"Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 4 of 5 facts was matched to the official text; 1 could not be confirmed."},"urls":{"html":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/mcbride/unsightly-property/","markdown":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/mcbride/unsightly-property.md","json":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/mcbride/unsightly-property.json"}}