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District of Chetwynd Property Maintenance and Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 912, 2009
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DISTRICT OF CHETWYND
BYLAW NO. 912, 2009
A bylaw to regulate property maintenance and
prevent unsightly premises
WHEREAS pursuant to the Community Charter Council may regulate, prohibit, and impose
requirements in relation to nuisances, disturbances, and other objectionable situations.
NOW THEREFORE the Council of the District of Chetwynd in open meeting assembled
enacts as follows:
1.
CITATION
This Bylaw may be cited as the "District of Chetwynd Property Maintenance and
Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 912, 2009".
2.
DEFINITIONS
"Authorized Person" means the person appointed by the Council for the purposes of
administering and enforcing this Bylaw, and includes a member of the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police, a Bylaw Enforcement Officer, and a Building Inspector of the
Municipality;
"Boulevard" means the area between the curb lines or the shoulder of a roadway and the
adjacent property line;
"Bylaw Enforcement Officer" means the person appointed by the Council to enforce
this Bylaw;
"Council" means the Council of the District of Chetwynd;
"Graffiti" means drawing, printing or writing scratched, sprayed, painted or scribbled on
a wall or other surface, but does not include a sign for which a permit
has been issued by the Municipality;
"Highway" means a highway as defined in the Community Charter;
"Municipality" means the District of Chetwynd;
"Noxious Weeds" means weeds designated as noxious pursuant to the Weed Control Act;
"Public Place" means an area or any lands under the care, management and jurisdiction
of the District of Chetwynd, including highways;
District of Chetwynd Property Maintenance and Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 912, 2009
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"Real Property" means land, with or without improvements so affixed to the land as to
make them in fact and law a part of it;
"Rubbish" means all discarded, broken or useless items and without restricting the
generality of the foregoing, shall include trash or bags of trash, concrete, asphalt,
clippings, plastic, scrap metal, broken glass, junk, garbage, tires, vessels, machinery, old
paper or wood products no longer in use or motor vehicles that are no longer roadworthy
or parts thereof, and the storage, cleaning, repairing or servicing of trucks, hauling or
construction equipment, except where the same is carried out entirely within a building;
and
"Sidewalk" means that portion of a highway improved for pedestrian traffic.
3.
APPLICATION
This bylaw applies to all real property within the District of Chetwynd.
4.
REGULATIONS
4.1
General
4.1.1 No owner or occupier of real property shall accumulate or permit to
accumulate on any real property any:
(a)
rubbish, garbage or other material that is noxious, offensive or
unwholesome;
(b)
stagnant water;
(c)
matter or thing that creates unsightly conditions referred to in
section 4.2.1 of this Bylaw; or
(d)
overgrown lawn area, vegetation, shrubs, brush or trees.
4.1.2 No person shall deposit or throw bottles, broken glass, paper, cardboard,
empty cartons, or other rubbish, trash or garbage in any open place within
the Municipality;
4.1.3 No person shall place graffiti on walls, fences or elsewhere on a public
place or on private property so as to be visible to persons using a public
place in the Municipality.
4.1.4 No person shall permit the following conditions to develop on property of
which he or she is the owner or occupier:
(a)
an overgrown lawn, or
(b)
vegetation or shrubs overgrown, or
(c)
trees left unpruned as to cause a hazard to buildings, utility wires
on the convenient or safe use of sidewalks, or
(d)
an infestation of weeds.
District of Chetwynd Property Maintenance and Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 912, 2009
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4.1.5 Section 4.1.4(d) of this Bylaw does not apply to the moderate presence of
weeds ordinarily incidental to a property owned by a reasonably prudent
owner.
4.1.6 No person shall cause or permit a noxious weed to be grown on the
property of which he or she is the owner or occupier.
4.2
Unsightly Premises
4.2.1 Without in any way restricting the generality of the word "unsightly", any
one or more of the following conditions may render real property
unsightly within the meaning of this Bylaw:
(a)
dilapidated, broken or leaning fences;
(b)
materials of any sort that are strewn on the real property rather than
piled in a neat manner;
(c)
unenclosed storage on property of motor vehicle parts or of motor
vehicles that are neither capable of normal vehicular operation nor
are licensed to operate under the Motor Vehicle Act;
(d)
construction materials where there is no apparent construction
occurring on the real property for which the materials are required;
(e)
furniture (other than furniture in reasonable condition designed
specifically for outdoor use), mattresses, bedding or appliances
stored or placed outside the premises or in open carport areas;
(f)
exterior finishing of buildings that has become excessively dirty,
worn, chipped, cracked or dilapidated through lack of maintenance;
(g)
unused landscaping materials including but not limited to dirt piles,
bark mulch or discarded planting pots;
(h)
uncontained compost piles;
(i)
on a property that is not zoned for agricultural use, a lawn area
("lawn area" does not include pasture, orchards, treed areas,
riparian areas, wildlife habitat or ecologically sensitive areas) that
is, in any location, in excess of 20.32 centimetres (8 inches) in
height;
(j)
noxious weeds pursuant to the Weed Control Act;
(k)
landscaping that is dead, severely diseased, damaged, excessively
overgrown or characterized by a lack of maintenance;
(l)
graffiti to which section 4.1.3 of this Bylaw applies; or
(m)
dilapidated buildings, including accessory buildings and structures
that may cause safety, health or fire hazards.
4.2.2 No owner or occupier of real property shall cause or permit:
(a)
unsanitary conditions to continue on the real property or in any
buildings or structures located on such real property;
District of Chetwynd Property Maintenance and Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 912, 2009
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(b)
any trees or other growths that create a safety hazard, including,
but not limited, to trees and other growths that have become dried
out or inhabited by vermin to which section 4.4.1 of this Bylaw, to
remain on such real property.
4.3
Removal Required
Every owner or occupier of real property must remove, or cause to be removed,
from such real property and from any buildings or structures located on such real
property all:
(a)
accumulations of refuse, garbage, or other noxious, offensive, or
unwholesome material;
(b)
accumulation of stagnant water;
(c)
unsanitary conditions;
(d)
noxious weeds;
(e)
weeds other than noxious weeds that contravene section 4.1.4 of this
Bylaw;
(f)
trees and other growths that create a safety hazard;
(g)
graffiti; and
(h)
unsightly conditions.
4.4
Insect and Pest Prevention
4.4.1 Every owner or occupier of real property must prevent, or cause to be
prevented, the infestation of the property by rodents, vermin, caterpillars
or other noxious or destructive insects or animals.
4.4.2 Where a property is or becomes infested by vermin, caterpillars, or other
noxious or destructive insects or animals the owner or occupier shall cause
the removal of the infestation within seventy-two (72) hours of notice
from the Municipality.
4.4.3 Where despite the best efforts of the property owner or occupier an
infestation referred to under section 4.4.2 of this Bylaw cannot be
removed because of the nature or scope of the infestation, the owner or
occupier shall act diligently to remove the infestation as quickly as
possible.
4.5
Accumulations of Snow and Ice
4.5.1 Every owner or occupier of real property shall remove all accumulations
of snow and ice from all footpaths and sidewalks on and adjoining the real
property by no later than 12:00 o'clock noon on every day.
District of Chetwynd Property Maintenance and Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 912, 2009
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4.5.2 Where the accumulation of snow and ice on a foot path, sidewalk, or roof
creates a hazardous condition, the owner or occupier of the real property
on which the foot path, sidewalk or roof is located, or which adjoins the
land on which the foot path or sidewalk is located, shall immediately
remove the accumulation of snow and ice.
4.6
Sidewalks/Boulevards
4.6.1 Every owner or occupier of real property shall keep any sidewalk
adjoining the property clear of any unsightly matter listed in section 4.2.1
of this Bylaw.
4.6.2 Every owner or occupier of real property shall be responsible for and
maintain any boulevard adjoining the property in a safe and tidy condition
including, without limitation, by mowing any grass, and trimming any
trees or shrubs located on the boulevard as would a prudent owner of such
trees or shrubs.
4.6.3 No person shall wilfully damage:
(a)
any boulevard, trees, shrubs, lawn, plants, bushes or hedge located
in a public place;
(b)
anything erected or maintained adjacent to a highway for the
purpose of lighting the highway;
(c)
any fence erected or maintained adjacent to any highway.
4.7
Fences
4.7.1 An owner of a fence shall paint or stain and maintain the fence in good
condition and repair.
4.7.2 No person shall allow a fence located on property of which he/she is the
owner or occupier, to fall into a state of disrepair.
4.7.3 Where any fence has fallen into a state of disrepair, the owner or occupier
of property upon which said fence is located, shall immediately repair the
fence or cause the fence to be repaired or removed.
4.8
Vision Clearance
Buildings, landscaping or structures at intersections must be in accordance with
'Visions Clearance at Intersections' established in the District of Chetwynd
Zoning Bylaw.
District of Chetwynd Property Maintenance and Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 912, 2009
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4.9
Hazardous Trees and Shrubs
4.9.1 Where any trees, hedges, bushes or shrubs growing or standing on any real
property are a hazard to the safety of persons, likely to damage public
property or seriously inconvenience the public, the Bylaw Enforcement
Officer may order such trees, hedges, bushes or shrubs to be trimmed,
removed or cut down at the expense of the owners or occupiers of real
property on which they grow or stand.
4.9.2 Before proceeding to exercise the powers conferred by section 4.9.1 of
this Bylaw, the Bylaw Enforcement Officer shall give notice in writing, by
registered mail to the most recent address shown on the current assessment
roll requiring the owner or occupier of the lands to remove, cut down, or
trim the trees, shrubs, hedges or bushes designated in the notice within
seven (7) days from date thereof and by leaving a copy of the notice at the
real property with a person apparently the age of sixteen (16) years or
older.
4.9.3 If the person given notice does not take the required action within the time
period referred to in section 4.9.2 of this Bylaw, the Municipality by its
employees or others, may enter the real property and effect that action at
the expense of the person given notice.
4.10
Demolition Sites
On any property where the demolition of any building or structure has taken place:
(a)
the owner must completely remove all debris and material whether to be
discarded or retained within two (2) weeks of the completion of the
demolition; and
(b)
any basement or other excavation shall be filled in or covered over to lot
grade level forthwith.
5.
EXEMPTIONS FROM REGULATIONS
This bylaw does not apply to outside storage on real property that is permitted and
appropriately screened in accordance with District of Chetwynd Zoning Bylaw.
6.
ENFORCEMENT
6.1
Right of Entry
A Bylaw Enforcement Officer may enter upon or into any property in the
Municipality in accordance with section 16 of the Community Charter for one or
more of the purposes described in section 16(6)(a) or (b).
District of Chetwynd Property Maintenance and Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 912, 2009
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6.2
Other Powers Not Affected
The power of entry under section 6.1 does not affect or impair any other right of
entry, inspection, seizure or remedial action granted to the Municipality or to a
Bylaw Enforcement Officer or any other officer or employee of the Municipality
under the Community Charter or other enactment.
6.3
Notices
A Bylaw Enforcement Officer may give written notice to the registered owner,
occupant or agent of real property, for the purpose of remedying the unsightliness
on the real property and require the owners, occupiers or their agent to remove or
remedy the unsightly condition within the time specified in the notice.
6.4
Failure to Comply
6.4.1 If after seven (7) days following delivery of a notice under section 6.2,
excluding notification with regard to snow and ice, the work required to be
performed by such notice remains either wholly or partially incomplete,
the Municipality may, by its employees or agent, enter upon the real
property affected by such notice and perform or complete such work at the
expense of the owner of such property. The cost incurred by the
Municipality in any exercise of its powers hereunder, shall, if not paid by
the 31st day of December in the year in which the expenses were incurred
to perform the work, be considered as money owing to the Municipality
and the Municipality may recover the costs incurred from that person as a
debt.
6.4.2 The Municipality, a Bylaw Enforcement Officer or other authorized
person who inspects any property under this bylaw, or any other person(s)
who performs any work on behalf of the Municipality in accordance with
this bylaw, is not liable for any damages caused by their actions.
6.5
No Interference
No person shall obstruct or interfere with:
(a)
an authorized person of the Municipality in the performance of his or her
duties under this bylaw; or
(b)
any person directed by the Municipality to carry out the work under the
provisions of this Bylaw.
District of Chetwynd Property Maintenance and Unsightly Premises Bylaw No. 912, 2009
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7.
OFFENCES AND PENALTIES
7.1
A person who violates any provision of this Bylaw, or who allows, causes or
permits any act or thing to be done in violation of any provision of this Bylaw,
commits an offence and shall be liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of ten
thousand ($10,000) dollars.
7.2
Each day that a violation of any provision of this Bylaw continues to exist is a
separate offence against this bylaw.
8.
SEVERABILITY
If any portion of this Bylaw is held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the
invalid section may be severed and the invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions
of this Bylaw.
9.
REPEAL
The District of Chetwynd "Residential Maintenance and Occupancy Standards By-law
No. 165, 1976" is hereby repealed.
Read a first time this
6th
day of October, 2009
Read a second time this
6th
day of October, 2009
Read a third time this
6th
day of October, 2009
Adopted by Council this
20th
day of October, 2009
Mayor
Director of Corporate Administration