Letting the grass grow high could soon cost Barrie homeowners.
City councillors will consider a motion Wednesday night which applies to the province for set fines — as much as $1,000 — for skirting the yard maintenance bylaw.
By the authority of the Municipal Act, the yard maintenance bylaw is designed to address minimum standards to regulate the exterior of a property. These standards include long grass and weeds, garbage and debris, and inoperable vehicles, as well as public and occupant safety.
Coun. Clare Riepma, who represents Ward 1, says yard maintenance issues affect the whole city and his east-end ward has its share.
“Long grass and weeds make a neighbourhood look bad and affects the people that do look after their properties,” he said. “Improperly stored garbage and recycling results in litter, which affects the environment and the aesthetics of the area.
“As with all bylaws we want to encourage compliance instead of resorting to enforcement,” Riepma added. “However, in some cases we may have to resort to the new set fines when someone won't comply.”
The application would be to the Ministry of the Attorney General for fines ranging from $100 to $1,000, based on the nature of the offence.
“Currently, the yard maintenance bylaw does not have approved set fines for violations,” said Jason Forgrave, Barrie’s supervisor of enforcement services. “That is the reason for the request to make an application to receive approved set fines.”
The maximum permitted under the Provincial Offences Act for a set fine is $1,000.
Forgave said there are now a set of administrative fees that may be assessed to the property’s registered owner for inspections associated with a complaint that range from $116 to $584.45.
Riepma noted the motion councillor will consider includes other measures to strengthen the yard maintenance bylaw.
“Reducing the time required to comply with grass cutting requirements from 12 days to five days is helpful and benefits the surrounding neighbours,” he said. “The bylaw is out of date in several areas and needs to be updated for that reason alone.”
Exempt from the bylaw would be yards and gardens intended to promote naturalization, pollination or rejuvenation.
City staff say the yard maintenance bylaw generally allows for quicker enforcement and compliance than Barrie’s property standards bylaw, as there’s no requirement for an appeal process and no need for staff to attend court unless a bylaw enforcement officer is required to swear to information against a landowner.
If there’s no compliance, the officer has the ability to hire a contractor to clean up the property and invoice the registered property owner for costs incurred by the city. This process has proven successful in obtaining compliance, according to city staff.
When a property has received two or more complaints for similar offences, city staff will generally move to the notice process.
Staff say the recommendation to obtain set fines from the Ministry of the Attorney General is to assist staff with enhanced enforcement and increase compliance associated with yard maintenance violations created by the lessee, tenant or occupant of a property by imposing immediate penalties.
Enforcement of the yard maintenance bylaw is essential to ensure a minimum standard for quality of life for Barrie residents, according to city staff. When standards are enforced, the overall aesthetics of the community are improved and the safety and security of the residents are improved. When properties are not maintained to a minimum standard, the community as a whole suffers.
On March 8, council deferred until the second quarter of 2024 a motion to enhance proactive property standards bylaw enforcement in Barrie. If approved by councillors sitting as general committee Wednesday night, changes to the yard maintenance bylaw and the application for set fines could be considered for final approval by city council at its March 29 meeting.
