FAQ

The landscape recognition program was developed to celebrate a business within the County of Grande Prairie No. 1 that met the landscaping standards set out by the County Land Use Bylaw No. 2680.

The objective of the program is to encourage and promote higher levels of landscaping cooperation among new and existing County businesses.

Long term, the Planning & Development Department is hopeful that developing a program such as this one; that it will be encouraging and rewarding to commercial and industrial businesses within the County to consistently maintain and develop landscaping into their business plans as an expectation.

Changing the current mentality of landscaping within our industrial nodes is key; the culture shift of making landscaping apart of your lot image, a part of your business image is our message we want to get across to business owners with this program.

Yes, effective landscaping enhances property values, creates a healthier and cleaner work environment for employees and customers, ensures the lot is complementary to the streetscape and area character, respects environmental values, and is self-sustaining, low maintenance and reduces overall business costs.

By focusing this initiative on the area that employ a significant amount of the population the initiative has had the opportunity to produce far felt impacts. Effective and exceptional landscaping enhances the built environment and creates a healthier and cleaner work environment for employees and customers.

The initiative has resulted in over 47,000 people reached by the Landscape Recognition Program videos which has increased awareness of the benefits of landscaping, and has helped to create a sense of corporate competition and by-in among businesses in the area. Landscaping enhances the esthetic appeal of commercial and industrial neighbourhoods increasing their property values.

Additional green space  could attract potential investors from out of area to develop in Northern Alberta as well as attract new residents to work and live growing our community and economy.

The County of Grande Prairie is optimistic that with the continual support of the Landscape Recognition Program we will see increased green space within our commercial and industrial development nodes.

Increased amounts of green space bring benefits to our community's environment:

planting of trees/shrubs will clean an purify the air;

supporting our storm water management systems;

supporting our local wetland;

 encouraging natural plantings to aid in the cleansing of water;

and lower carbon footprint from encouraging increased green commercial and industrial landscaping.