[adriand]

We're from different places, clearly - where I live (in a mid-sized Canadian city), there are no HOAs. In fact, I'm not sure they're a thing in Canada more generally. Here, property standards are part of municipal bylaws.

Many of the neighbourhoods in this city are quite diverse - in Canada more generally, I've never noticed the sudden, obvious changes in socioeconomic status that you notice after crossing a street or railway in the US. Along with that come wide variances in the degree of effort and care that people put into their properties. When the amount of care falls below a certain (legally defined) standard, then I do think those bylaws are helpful.

My next door neighbour at my last house was a cop and at some point he just decided he didn't care any more about his property, and his front yard was all weeds and his backyard was all dog shit. There was no amount of "sense of community" that was going to get him to keep his property tidy. He just...stopped caring.

There is also a legal (not to mention moral and ethical) requirement to clear snow from the sidewalk in front of your property within 24 hours of a snowfall. This is generally complied with, but the ~5% of people who do not comply make travelling along city sidewalks hazardous for the elderly and handicapped in the winter months. A "sense of community" is not sufficient to ensure prompt snow clearance, and once again, enforcement measures are helpful.

[balfirevic]

> There is also a legal (not to mention moral and ethical) requirement to clear snow from the sidewalk in front of your property within 24 hours of a snowfall.

What happens if you're away from home for a week (or a month)?

[adriand]

You either have to arrange for someone else to do it, or, the city will do it and issue a fine / charge.

In practice, enforcement is complaint-driven, so the city won’t generally do anything until someone takes the time to report it.

Reporting it may sound meddlesome, but watching an elderly person trying to move around the day after a heavy snowfall is nothing short of tragic. It’s a real issue of equity that needs to be taken more seriously than it is.