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FAQ's

What is the difference between a residents association and a community association?

  • The CRRA is separate from the West Springs Cougar Ridge Community Association (WSCR CA).

  • The Community Association is also a volunteer group of community members with many responsibilities including: the planning of sports facilities, the community newsletter, and various social events.

  • The CRRA is focused solely on landscaping.

  • Membership in the CRRA is mandatory if you have an encumbrance on your home.

  • Membership in the WSCR CA is voluntary. We encourage all of our neighbours to become members of the WSCR CA!

 What can the CRRA do to combat graffiti vandalism in Cougar Ridge?

  • Not much. While the CRRA is not responsible for combating graffiti vandalism, many residents contact us to see what can be done about it.

  • The Calgary Police Service and the City of Calgary’s Animal and Bylaw Services can help residents combat graffiti vandalism, and they take it very seriously. They recommend that if you see graffiti you:

    • Remove graffiti from your property as soon as you notice it. Fresh paint is more easily removed than paint that has had time to bond with a surface. The City of Calgary offers the Private Graffiti Abatement Program to help residents and business owners remove graffiti from their private property. Under the program, residents can pay a $25 fee and sign a waiver granting a City contractor permission to remove the graffiti. All revenue is reinvested into the program. To get help from PGAP, please contact 403.268.1880 or email PGAP@calgary.ca.

    • Record the crime by taking pictures of the vandalism.

    • Report graffiti on City or private property by calling 3-1-1. The faster you report graffiti vandalism you see on public property (such as playground equipment, the fence along Old Banff Coach Road, utility boxes, etc), the faster the City of Calgary will send a crew to clean it up). If you see someone in the act of putting up graffiti anywhere in the city, please call the Police at 9-1-1.

  • Although the fence surrounding Cougar Ridge is technically the property of the adjacent home owners, the City of Calgary will clean up graffiti on the fence along Old Banff Coach Road. However, the adjacent property owners are responsible for cleaning the fence in all other parts of the neighbourhood.

Who determines the landscaping needs in Cougar Ridge?

  • The landscaping needs are identified by the CRRA’s Landscaping Committee and approved by the CRRA Board of Directors.  These volunteers were elected at the last annual general meeting (AGM) and, like all elected officials, represent the community’s needs.

  • These unpaid volunteers do not have additional capacity to actively solicit landscaping input from community residents.

  • If you wish to volunteer on the Board of Directors and have a greater say in landscaping, we invite you to attend our AGM each year. Volunteer Board members are always welcome!

What area is the CRRA supposed to landscape?

  • The CRRA is responsible for landscaping in most of Cougar Ridge, which is currently bounded on the south by Old Banff Coach Road, on the east by 77 Street, on the west by the future Stoney Trail ring road, and on the north by Canada Olympic Park and the future Paskapoo Slopes Park.

Who runs the CRRA? Why don’t you post your last names?

  • The CRRA is managed by residents of Cougar Ridge who volunteer their time.

  • We don’t post our last names on the website for security and privacy reasons.

  • We invite anyone who is interested in having a say in the CRRA’s work to put his or her name forward as a volunteer at the next AGM.

Why don’t you have a physical address?

  • In order to keep administration costs down, we are not renting office space. In addition, we are solely volunteer run and simply do not have the manpower or resources to run an office, or answer phone calls.  Any correspondence or payments should be sent directly to our Management company, CA Management. 

            CA Management
             Suite 810, Atrium 1, 839 5 Ave SW
             Calgary AB T2P 3C8
             Phone 403 299-1810

Why don’t you have a phone number? How can I contact you?

  • In order to keep administration costs down, we have not set up a phone line.  Again, we do not have the manpower or resources to take phone calls. If you have issues pertaining to your invoice, collections notice, late fees/etc, please contact CA Management directly. 

  • Please keep in mind that we are 100% volunteer run. No one wants to volunteer to answer phone calls from Cougar Ridge’s 1,282 households, as that would be overwhelming.

  • The best way to contact us is by email at feedback@mycougarridge.com.  The CRRA email is checked almost daily by our board volunteers.  Please remember the CRRA is run entirely by a small number of volunteers, so be patient while waiting for a response.

What is your policy on pesticide use and weed control?

  • We have heard that for some residents the primary concern is to have what is traditionally considered a “perfect” weed-free lawn, while we have heard from other residents that they are willing to accept some weeds in order to have safe, sustainable landscaping.

  • In 2009, we did some pesticide management research to better understand this issue, but we do not have a CRRA policy on this issue.

  • For now, The City will continue to be responsible for most of the landscaping needs in Cougar Ridge. Therefore, the City of Calgary’s policy on pesticide use is more applicable to our area for now. The Integrated Pest Management Plan (IPM) (Council Policy CSPS032) is available at http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/bu/cityclerks/council_policies/csps032.pdf.

What other neighborhoods have residents’ associations (RA) and why?

  • Neighbouring communities of West Springs, Wentworth, Springside, etc. all have residents’ associations in place, and they also collect annual fees to improve their community and allow for landscaping enhancements.  Annual fees vary across each RA. 

  • If you walk/drive through these neighboring communities, you will see beautiful flower beds in the spring/summer, as well as enhanced maintenance of the grass/trees/walkways/etc.

  • Please refer to the West Springs Cougar Ridge Community Association website at: www.wscr.ca, and click on “Residents Association” for more information on these other residents’/homeowners associations.

Why are there so many separate residents associations? Why can’t there be just one residents association and community association for WSCR all rolled into one?

Good question.

  • Private developers are responsible for establishing the residents associations for new neighbourhoods, and The City of Calgary is responsible for the determining the regulatory climate under which these associations are established.

  • If you have concerns about the balkanization of residents associations, please contact The City of Calgary at 3-1-1, or speak with your Alderman, Richard Pootmans.

  • We cannot formally amalgamate the many different residents associations and the community association in this area, because that would require getting every single home owner to change the encumbrance on their land title.  In the future, however, the residents associations and community association may informally merge our governance structures.

I think $100 per household seems like a lot of money for landscaping. How could you possibly use all that money just for a few plants?

  • Neighbouring communities of West Springs, Wentworth, Springside, etc. all have residents’ associations in place, and they also collect comparative annual fees to improve their community and allow for landscaping enhancements.  Some of these neighbouring RAs charge $200-$300 per year. 

  • If you walk/drive through these neighboring communities, you will see beautiful flower beds in the spring/summer, as well as enhanced maintenance of the grass/trees/walkways/etc.

  • Landscaping costs are high and with our current fee structure, the CRRA is not able to take over maintenance of green spaces from the City.  We can only currently afford to enhance the boulevards, main entrance features in Cougar Ridge, basic weeding and maintenance for each growing season, while also building up a reserve fund which is mandated. 

Reminder: You agreed to pay these fees when you purchased your home.  There is an encumbrance on your land title, mandating that these fees be paid.

 How do I know you’re not misusing the money?

  • The money collected by the CRRA needs to be properly managed, to provide the best value for the community.

  • Transparency is important, so we encourage you to examine our audited financial statements to make sure the money is being properly spent.

  • The CRRA had its books and financial statements audited in 2011 by an independent accounting firm, Cremers & Elliott.  The audit confirmed the CRRA is in good standing and our books are in order.. 

Is the CRRA fee mandatory?

  • Yes.  For the 1,282 households in Cougar Ridge that are required to pay the annual CRRA fee, the fee is secured by an encumbrance registered on the homeowner’s property at the time the development was created.

  • In other words, each person with an encumbrance signed an agreement to pay the annual rent charge when they purchased the property.

Is everyone in Cougar Ridge required to pay the encumbrance?

  • No. Through a combination of human error and deliberate oversight, the City of Calgary and the developers of the neighbourhood did not put encumbrances on about one quarter of homes in the middle part of Cougar Ridge – the middle part of the neighbourhood immediately east of 85th Street. This part of the neighbourhood does not have to pay the encumbrance.

  • This would be difficult to change because it would require one of two things: 1) Either we would have to convince the homeowners in that middle part to add encumbrance to their land titles. Or 2) we could bring everyone’s encumbrance down to zero in the entire neighbourhood, then convince 66.7% of all residents (two third plus one) to vote for The City of Calgary collecting a $100 encumbrance form all residents at tax time. With this option, residents would have to vote on this issue every five years and the money could only be used for landscaping (for example, it could not be used to fixing the fence, or any other community projects that may come up).

  • The CRRA is not required to provide enhanced landscaping within the non-encumbrance part of the neighbourhood.

  • The CRRA finds it unfortunate that one part of the community is being treated separately from the rest of the community.  If you think this situation is unfair, you may communicate your thoughts on this matter to your Alderman, Richard Pootmans, or call The City’s general line, 3-1-1.   For more information on this issue, click on Information about the encumbrance issue sent to Alderman Connelly in 2010.

Why do you care whether Members pay on time? Why are you planning to hire a collections agency to go after unpaid invoices?

  • Our landscaping efforts will not be as effective if our budget is unstable. We need to anticipate most of our funds coming in when they are due in order to most effectively allocate the funds.

  • When you pay on time, you allow the Board of Directors to focus less on asking for and collecting, which we do not enjoy, and more on our mandate of improving the community.

  • Collecting mandatory fees is the single most stressful and time consuming portion of running the CRRA; please consider this when making it difficult on our volunteers.

Why don’t you offer online payment?

  • We agree that offering online payment would be more convenient.

  • Offering online payment would require a one-time set up fee of about $500, monthly fees of about $40, and about a 2% charge on each transaction. At this time we feel that is too expensive.

  • Residents associations that offer online payment options charge a higher annual rent charge than we do.

Who cuts the grass on the boulevard in front of my house?

  • Some residents may be surprised to learn that the responsibility to maintain boulevards adjacent to private homes lies with the homeowner, which is a requirement throughout the City of Calgary pursuant to Bylaw Number 5M2004.

  • This applies whether the boulevard is separated by a sidewalk or whether the boulevard is immediately adjacent to the private lot, or even on the other side of their fence.

  • Residents seeking further information about this requirement should visit the City of Calgary’s website, www.calgary.ca, or call the City’s general services line – 311.

Will the CRRA do anything about the fence surrounding the community?

  • You may be surprised to learn that the fence is the responsibility of the homeowner on whichever lot it is situated, after purchase from the developer.

  • Currently, the CRRA is focusing on implementing our core mandate of enhanced landscaping. Once we have established operations for our core mandate, we may consider taking on upkeep and improvement of the fence.

  • To do this, the CRRA would need the cooperation of all homeowners on which this fence sits, to see if we can maintain it in a visually appealing manner.  This would require the permission and explicit approval of all homeowners who have the fence on their property, as well as waiver from them, allowing this work to be done.

Can the CRRA explain its policies regarding snow removal?

  • The CRRA does not get involved in snow removal. This is a City matter.  The City bylaw (Bylaw #20M88) for sidewalks adjacent to private land states, among other things, that the owner of the private land is required to remove ice and snow 24 hours after the ice and snow has been deposited.

  • Pathways are another matter. Snow removal on pathways is the responsibility of The City. Concerns regarding snow clearing should be brought to the attention of the City of Calgary, utilizing the City’s general services line – 311.

  • The park areas, streets and pathways are the property of the City. Because of a liability issue, the City (Park's division) does "not" want any private contractor working on or around these areas. Even if we could get permission by sponsoring a financial bond, it would still not solve our problem.  The cost of removing the snow from the pathways would not only wipe out our total budget but we would need to raise the annual fee by at least another $100, without any flowers or landscaping enhancements (snow removal is very expensive). In order to keep everyone happy and to continue with landscaping efforts, the fee would need to be approximately $300/year to provide a budget that would allow for snow removal as well as general landscaping efforts. The CRRA Board of Directors can't see residents agreeing to this type of fee increase.  This is not our mandate for this year ,which was charged to us by the community at our last AGM.  Budgets and contracts are already in place. This is an issue for a future Board.

  • If you are passionate about the CRRA Board taking this issue on, then please consider running for the Board at our 2011 AGM, to be held on October 6, 2011.

Are there any tips on outdoor watering?

  • Please call 311 or go to The City’s website to check out suggestions from the City of Calgary.

Does the City’s Drainage Bylaw prohibit homeowners from washing vehicles in their driveway or on the street?

  • The CRRA does not get involved in regulating what private home owners send down the storm drainage system. This is a City matter.  Concerns regarding the storm drainage system should be brought to the attention of the City of Calgary, utilizing the City’s general services line – 311.

Does the City’s Noise Regulations apply restrictions on the noise caused by homeowners and limit activity such as lawn mowing to specific hours of the day?

  • The CRRA does not get involved in regulating noise in the neighbourhood. This is a City matter.

  • If you would like to report a bylaw infraction please call 3-1-1.

Does the City’s Firepit Regulations restrict the use of backyard fire pits?

  • The CRRA does not get involved in regulating the use of backyard fire pits in the neighbourhood. This is a City matter.

  • If you would like to report a bylaw infraction please call 3-1-1.

What City of Calgary policies govern the functioning of residents associations?

  • The following are all available on the City of Calgary website at www.calgary.ca:


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