The township’s bylaw enforcement officer has proposed changes that will give staff more power to access private properties.
Last week council considered a report from Bruce Brockelbank, which suggested altering the township’s property standards bylaw of 2002 to provide staff “the authority and power to enter onto a property, complete the clean-up and bill this cost back to the owner.”
Brockelbank said in his report that changes to the Provincial Offences Act in 2006 “make these changes necessary.”
In creating the updated bylaw, Brockelbank said he consulted the Ontario Property Standards Officers Association and similar bylaws in other municipalities.
Specifically, the proposed bylaw states that if any person refuses an order of township staff the municipality “may cause the required work to be done at the cost of the person. The cost of such work may be recovered by action or by adding the costs to the tax roll and collecting them in the same manner as property taxes.”
Council voted in favour of accepting Brockelbank’s report, but when the bylaw came up later in the meeting, it was deferred.
Councillor Mike Downey said he thinks all of council should be present for such a vote (Mayor Bruce Whale was absent) and the rest of council agreed.
