Bylaw outlaws

I’m tired so excuse any typos.

Often my discussions are prompted by others who reach out to me who are apprehensive to publicly talk about an issue. I then take my time to cover their issues and fill my discussions with personal observations and opinion. Today is no different as I embark on discussing the activities of our Municipal By-Law department.

If ever, there was a job that could be described as thankless, it certainly would be that of our Municipal By-Law enforcement officer’s. Many of these positions are filled with young people who want to one day be police officers or have a wide variety of other future legal or municipal aspirations. There are some who actually treat the position as a career path. Regardless of who these men and women are, their job is to enforce the by-laws of the town. They do not make the laws but they are tasked to enforce them.

There are bylaw infractions every day in Wasaga Beach and probably in every community throughout Ontario. Some seem to be minor, while others appear quite serious in nature and could yield dire consequence’s. Bylaws help to set guidelines and provide framework that ensures community safety and a community standard that the majority of our society see as appropriate. These bylaws that our dedicated municipal employees enforce are created and approved by those we elect and entrust into our Council positions.

Any Council can choose to enact new bylaws or modify existing bylaws during their four year mandate.

If I were ever a member of Council, I would modify the towns procedural policies to make it mandatory for each department head to forward a report to all new Council members within the first two weeks of the new term. That report, would include recommendations for changes to every bylaw if the department head felt changes should/ could be made to improve or modernize the place we call home. The timing of these reports would be key! They would sit on Council members desks at the same time that they would be considering their very first budgets.

This is also when they would be setting their agreed upon priorities for the next four years. So, those we elect get to decide on the standards we will all be held accountable for. Unfortunately, some of these decisions will not please everyone. So, in order to avoid controversy, some Councils may choose just to steer clear of the tough stuff and just throw good parties.

When there are bylaw infractions, one of the big questions is, and always has been, when should our bylaw officers respond and act? Should a patrolling officer be trained to recognize when a property appears to be non-compliant and take appropriate action? For instance, I saw a by-law truck slowly drive past my property yesterday. Were they gauging the length of my grass? Should I have flagged them down to explain the fact that my lawn mower won’t start and ensure them it will be handled soon? No… I will get to it in the next few days because I know it needs doing and I don’t like offending my neighbours. But what about the person who just doesn’t care and decides they don’t want to cut their grass any longer?

Does the patrolling officer deal with what he/she sees immediately or do they wait until a public complaint triggers the process. My understanding at this time is that it is the latter of the two and a complaint needs to be filed. It seems that you can break whatever by-laws you like and what we seem to hear is that enforcement is “complaint oriented”.

There are so many complicated issues relating to bylaw complaints. Do two neighbours not like each other so they are vigilant and call as soon as an infraction is evident? When this happens, there is no winner. You have to live beside your neighbours, so it’s best to try working things out without involving the municipality if possible.

Once a complaint is laid however, I understand that unless the issue goes to court, the identity of the complainant is to be kept confidential.

So, how does one file a complaint? Well this is one thing I have recently heard additional complaints about. It was actually one of the triggers for this discussion. Our Bylaw department, has apparently (just recently) required those complaining about fireworks to go online and fill in a form. If true, I have two issues with this. First, this may actually be a deterrent to those who may have a valid complaint that should be looked into but the person complaining finds a phone call easier than a computer. Second, any delay this causes may impede the bylaw officers ability to properly investigate the complaint (like in a fireworks complaint).

Another recent complaint about the “action or inaction” of our enforcement staff is that those who appear to be close to our Council appear to have special treatment. It may or may not be true but when they boldly breach rules, the optics sure don’t look good. Would it be acceptable for everyone to apply for variances, but go ahead with the project while waiting for the decision? I think not.

How sad that residents feel they are held to differing standards depending on who they are or who they know!

I truly don’t know the best balance when it comes to officers initiating their own complaints based on observations or waiting for a public complaint. What I do know is that when residents and businesses try their best to work within the existing rules, it is extremely frustrating to see that those close to Council appear to be allowed to blatantly ignore bylaws knowing they will not be dealt with unless someone has the courage to complain.

Why would I say it takes “courage”? Quite simply, the online support network of our existing Council will attack any individuals or businesses that do speak up. (We have been attacked and lied about by Council members and their supporters.)

Bylaws are an important tool in helping shape a community. They allow the community to set standards, ensuring that our properties maintain value and our community remains safe.

When a Council allows the weaponization of their Bylaw department (or allows false allegations of use of these by-laws) for political gain, that is a shame.

The final thing I wanted to discuss is that it is the job of our Council to ensure our by-laws are not outdated. It is their job to ensure new regulations are introduced if they become necessary and it is their job to ensure by-laws that are possibly irrelevant get the modifications necessary to ensure they reflect the norms we have come to accept as reasonable in 2024.

Here is an example of discussions that could take place at Council.

With today’s economy combined with the need to divert waste from our landfills, is it still reasonable to charge a fee to host a garage sale and limit those to 2 a year? Is it still appropriate to not allow “free” items to be left at the roads edge for those who may want/ need the items?

These are the types of questions our Council should be publicly discussing. I personally would allow one week a season, where items are left by the curb. If nobody has a need for these items within one day of weeks end, the Town could then clear the items to a distribution lot (with a covered area) and leave them there for public access free for a month before moving it to landfill.

Maybe not the perfect idea, but this is an example of what I say our Council SHOULD be focused on.

It’s actually areas like this (unwanted items) that could become the easy discussions. Solutions to these issues may cost a bit of money but eventually result in a win/ win.

The more difficult issues are things like greater property standards issues. Often these issues involve overlapping provincial rules and require more careful consideration. But THAT does not excuse a Council from addressing all issues including the tough ones. Should we be allowing developers to simply ignore all lot coverage restrictions or setback rules knowing they will qualify for a variance from Council, or should the standards be changed for EVERY property owner?

Please, when encountering the great team that make up our bylaw department don’t take out any frustration on them. It is our Council who direct senior staff and it is those senior staff / department heads that direct the front line staff staff.

We live in a great community and it is time to update many of the bylaws created generations ago. Some bylaw updates may come with associated costs. These costs will have to be measured against other Council priorities. For that reason, I’m afraid that we will have to wait to see these needed improvements to our governance tools, as we have another two years of great parties to attend and pay for.

One Comment

alanclegg May 29, 2024 at 5:29 pm

Under the previous council, the Bylaw department was left pretty much to its own devices. Council created and amended the bylaws and the department enforced them. All Bylaw departments aren’t popular; they either are considered too strict or too lax. Few are happy when a bylaw truck turns up.

Lately however I have reports of a deeper unhappiness in Wasaga Beach. an awareness that what was once at least the nominally fair scales of local justice now have a definite tilt in favour of a certain “set” of people. I have mentioned before the many benefits of being a friend of Brian. It seems this also includes a bylaw “get out of jail FREE card”. The ability to have that truck drive on by no matter who has been complaining.

I focus in this instance on certain long time friends of Brian Smith who run several marginal businesses, are able to have their property look like commercial premises (slum), yet seem to be invisible to a guardians of the municipal good. I don’t fault the officers, in this Town hall, they need to keep their jobs and irritating the emperor isn’t a good career move.