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By Blair Braitenbach
Staff reporter
The MD of Foothills is getting closer to finalizing new rules that address noise and eyesores that cause a disturbance to neighbours.
MD council will be holding a public meeting tomorrow (April 3) at 1:30 p.m. on its community standards bylaw draft to gain any final input from the public and decide the next steps.
The bylaw draft, which has been a year-long process, addresses three main issues: noise, public nuisances and unsightly properties. According to MD Deputy Reeve Terry Waddock, the bylaw was drafted to give MD officers control over those using their properties inappropriately.
“In terms of trying to raise this issue, there’s a lot of debate that says ‘you know what, there’s only a handful of people or less who are a problem. Are you trying to use a sledgehammer on a walnut here?’” Waddock said. “But on the other hand, if you don’t have something when you get somebody who is a real problem, the bylaw officer has no way of dealing with the situation.”
The MD held open houses last spring on the bylaw at various locations throughout the division. The draft has gone through the MD’s lawyers and brought back to council for review. The bylaw will not be decided upon tomorrow, rather, the goal is to gain more input and determine whether or not it needs some tweaks before it’s approved or if it should be dropped altogether.
Carol Robinson, MD community services coordinator, said overall the response from the public towards the bylaw has been supportive. One of the main concerns she said staff noted was the provision allowing officers the right of entry onto one’s property to enforce the bylaw. Under the Municipal Government Act bylaw officers are already allowed to do so, however, Robinson said it has always been the MD’s policy to work effectively with residents when necessary to enter a property.
“Our officers will enter with reasonable notice. They try to contact the resident and make an appointment to see them,” Robinson said, adding the community standards bylaw is strictly complaint-based.
Examples constituting unsightly premises and nuisances include: the accumulation of garbage, bottles, dirt, human and animal excrement, furniture, etc.; excessive uncut grass and weeds; more than three unlicenced vehicles in a state of disrepair; and the open or exposed storage of any industrial fluid, including engine oil, break fluid, or antifreeze.
Under the bylaw, loud noises emanating from one’s yard in a residential area won’t be permitted during the night, which ranges from mowing the lawn to loud partying. The bylaw also addresses the use of all terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles and any other vehicles that cause a disturbance and safety concerns to neighbours, both in residential areas and on acreages. Robinson stressed the bylaw is not targeting agricultural operations.
She added that bylaw officers will only issue fines as a last resort, opting to cooperate with residents first.
Grandfathering is another issue Robinson said needs to be addressed with the proposed bylaw.
“Council is not going to want to put any undue financial hardship on residents,” Robinson said with reference to storage businesses, for example.
If the bylaw is approved, Waddock said it would likely go through a test period to see which aspects work and which ones don’t.
“If the community felt that was enough, then great. If they feel more ought to be done, then you’d go through another process to see if there was some support for that,” Waddock said.
For a full description of the community standards bylaw, visit the MD of Foothills website at www.mdfoothills.com
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