Safe Property bylaw changes hit another snag in Central Frontenac

Jul 13, 2016

Ken Gilpin, the owner of Frontenac Municipal Bylaw Enforcement, appeared before Central Frontenac Council this week to speak to changes that have been proposed to the safe properties and noise bylaws that the township already has in place.

“All these bylaws are simply means of dealing with issues that come up. The changes that are proposed are just updates and short form wording as well to make them more effective,” he said.

Gilpin explained that the inspections are only triggered by complaints, and that after investigations, non-compliance with the bylaws results in the issuance of an order with 30 days to comply.

“At the end of 30 days we bring in a company to clean the property up and bill from there,” he said.

Gilpin said that his company, which provides bylaw enforcement services for a number of municipalities including North, Central and South Frontenac, always uses the same company to clean up properties.

“They have the necessary equipment and licenses to deal with scrap metal, hazardous waste, anything that is necessary to clean up properties that are derelict,” he said.

Councilor Tom Dewey said that Gilpin should put out an RFP for the services he contracts out in order to comply with township procurement policies, leading to a discussion about whether the policy applies to contractors.

The tenor of the discussion changed, however, when Mayor Smith invited Ross Halliday, a new resident of the township, to present his objections to the bylaw, which were included in a detailed written submission. Halliday said that the bylaw includes too much vague language and therefore hay fields, dandelions, cars that are unlicensed but still being repaired, and grass that may only be a few inches long, can be seen as non-compliant with the bylaw.

“I moved here with my wife Mandy a year ago with the intention of farming, and this bylaw can be used to stop us from doing most of what we are planning to do. I took a tour of my neighborhood and just about every property can be seen to be non-compliant with this new bylaw, which is much more open ended and vague than the current bylaw,” he said.

Council received letters supporting the changes from Gord Brown and Terry Kennedy, and one that opposes it from Sarah Hale, but the submission by Ross Halliday seemed to have the greatest effect.

Councilors Jamie Riddell and Brent Cameron said that passage of the bylaw should be deferred and the matter referred to special committee of council. Even Councilor Tom Dewey, who has been supportive of the changes, agreed, and by a unanimous vote the new safe properties and noise bylaws were referred to a committee that was subsequently struck to look at them and report back later in the year.