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DISTRICT OF LAKE COUNTRY
BYLAW 612, 2007
CONSOLIDATED VERSION
(Includes amendment as of July 18, 2017)
This is a consolidated copy to be used for convenience only. Users are asked to refer to the District of
Lake Country Burning Bylaw 612, 2007 as amended from time to time to verify accuracy and
completeness.
Amending Bylaw
Summary of Amendments
Adoption
759
Adding Section 2(a)
Deleting and replacing Section 4(a).
Deleting and replacing Section 4(c).
Deleting and replacing Section 6(a).
July 20, 2010
988
Amend Sections 2, 6 & 7
Deleting and replacing Section 10
Deleting Section 13
Deleting Schedule A
January 17, 2017
1013
Amend Sections 2, 6 & 7
Deleting and replacing Section 10
Deleting Section 13
Deleting Schedule A
*See Report to Council of July 4, 2017
July 18, 2017
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DISTRICT OF LAKE COUNTRY
BYLAW 612, 2007
A BYLAW TO REGULATE OPEN BURNING WITHIN THE
DISTRICT OF LAKE COUNTRY
WHEREAS the Council of the District of Lake Country may by bylaw regulate open burning;
AND WHEREAS the Council of the District of Lake Country deems it necessary to regulate open burning;
NOW, THEREFORE, the Council of the District of Lake Country, in open meeting assembled, enacts as
follows:
1.
Definitions
In this bylaw, unless the context otherwise requires:
"Bylaw Enforcement Officer" means an officer, employee or agent of the District of Lake Country,
authorized by Council to administer this bylaw, including the lawful deputy of that person and a
person who is appointed to fill the position on an "Acting" basis in the absence of the person who
holds the position;
"Campfire" means a fire used for the purpose of cooking and/or to provide heat and light
associated with camping or recreation;
"Compostable Materials" means waste products from plants, trees or other vegetation that are
naturally biodegradable including grass clippings, leaves, tree needles, garden waste, and weeds;
"Council" means the Council of the District of Lake Country;
"District" means that part of the District of Lake Country described in its Letters Patent;
"Fire Chief" means the Fire Chief of the District of Lake Country or his/her designate;
"Garbage" means all waste material from any source excluding permitted burning materials and
includes materials resulting from the construction, renovation or demolition of any structure;
"Open Burning" means the combustion or burning of any substance in the open air by any means
but shall not include:
the operation of an outdoor barbeque intended for and used solely for the preparation of
foods;
fires used by Fire Department authorities for the purpose of education, training and other
Fire Department purposes;
campfires.
"Permitted burning materials" means all parts of trees or other vegetation that do not constitute
compostable materials and includes prunings, branches, trunks and tree stumps, and includes
untreated commercially produced wood waste;
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"Prohibited materials" means those materials listed in Schedule A of the Open Burning Smoke
Control Regulation enacted pursuant to the Environmental Management Act as amended from
time to time and shall include the following:
tires
treated lumber
plastics
railway ties
drywall
manure
demolition waste
rubber
domestic waste
asphalt
paint
asphalt products
hazardous waste
fuel and lubricant containers
tar paper
biomedical waste
2.
Application
a)
Campfires and open burning are not permitted in the District except in accordance with
this Bylaw.
b)
This Bylaw applies to all areas of the District of Lake Country.
c)
Nothing contained in this Bylaw shall excuse compliance with other applicable laws of
authorities having jurisdiction that have the effect of being more restrictive than this
Bylaw.
d)
at the time of application, the applicant will pay the District an application fee as set out
in the District Fees Bylaw, or under any other bylaw of the District, as amended from
time to time.
3.
Campfires
Campfires are permitted with the permission of the property owner provided that the fire is
fueled by seasoned wood and provided the fire is no larger than one metre in diameter and height
and is controlled by a competent person equipped with sufficient equipment to prevent the fire
from getting out of control. No campfires will be allowed when the fire hazard is rated as "high"
by the Ministry of Forests or at any other time that Ministry deems as dangerous. A minimum
separation of three metres shall be maintained between campfires and any combustible material.
4.
General Regulations and Prohibitions
a)
All persons conducting "Open Burning" under the provisions of the Bylaw must submit
an application for a Burning Permit in the form provided by the District of Lake Country.
b)
No person shall conduct open burning except during a permitted burning period.
No person shall conduct open burning unless in accordance with an approved burning
permit, and during a permitted burning period.
c)
No person shall conduct open burning of any materials except permitted burning
materials. Without restricting the generality of the foregoing, no person shall burn garbage,
compostable materials, or prohibited materials.
d)
No person shall conduct open burning by use of an incinerator, burning barrel, outdoor
fireplace with a flue or similar device.
f)
All owners and occupiers of property on which burning is permitted in accordance with this
Bylaw shall ensure that no nuisance or hazard is caused by any open burning.
Added by
Bylaw 759
Amended by
Bylaw 759
Added by
Bylaw 988 & 1013
Amended by
Bylaw 759
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g)
No person shall conduct burning of the wood, trees, stumps, shrubbery and woody debris
that results from clearing land that is the subject of a rezoning, subdivision, development
permit or soil permit application to help prepare the land for a different land use or density.
5.
Open Burning Requirements and Prohibitions:
a)
All permitted burning materials shall be thoroughly dried and capable of being burned
and disposed of rapidly;
b)
All permitted burning materials shall originate from the parcel of land where the burn is
taking place;
c)
All burning except as expressly provided in this Bylaw shall be conducted and concluded
between 7:00 a.m. and sunset of the same day; except as expressly authorized in Section
6;
d)
Stumps and other materials exceeding twenty centimetres in diameter shall not be burned
unless they have been allowed to dry for a minimum of two years or are in an equivalent
state to the satisfaction of the Fire Chief. Fires for such materials may be maintained for a
maximum of 72 hours if the fire is substantially smokeless, provided that no further
combustible materials shall be added to a fire after 5:00 p.m. of each day of the fire, and
before 7:00 a.m. of the next day;
e)
A minimum separation of thirty (30) metres shall be maintained between the location of a
fire and all property lines, buildings and any combustible materials including any
vegetation, buildings or structures;
f)
All fires shall be continuously controlled and supervised by a competent person properly
equipped with sufficient fire extinguishing equipment and material and shall be maintained
so as to not constitute a hazard;
g)
No fire shall be larger than 2 metres in height by 3 metres in diameter;
h)
Burning shall not be commenced unless the Environment Canada Venting Index indicates
that ventilation conditions and air quality are in the "Good" category.
i)
Only those residents that have properties greater than or equal to 1 hectare (2.5 acres) are
eligible to apply for an open burning permit.
6.
Special Burning Permits and Regulations
a)
Application may be made to the Fire Chief or his designate for a special burning permit for
air curtain burning for the purpose of disposing of the fuels created from fuel modification
or hazard reduction, subject to the conditions that:
i)
the burn produces no visible smoke once fully operative;
ii)
no prohibited materials are burned;
iii)
only wood waste is burned.
b)
The Fire Chief may issue a special burning permit to handle a specific hazard, insect
infestation or disease, at any time during the year subject to the above conditions plus any
other conditions the Fire Chief considers necessary to achieve a safe burn.
c)
No burning permit or special permit fees shall apply for Class 9 (Farm) assessed properties
where the applicant provides evidence satisfactory to the Fire Chief confirming an insect
infestation or disease upon the permitted burning materials located on the property.
d)
Special Burning Permits and extensions shall be issued for a periods of up to one month for
each permit.
7.
Permitted Open Burning Periods
Added by Bylaw
988 & 1013
Amended by
Bylaw 759
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Open burning shall be permitted during the following periods, unless varied by the Fire Chief:
a)
October 1 to December 31
b)
January 1 to April 30
c)
Class 9 (Farm) assessed properties may make an application for open burning to take
place during both time periods noted above.
8. Inspections and Orders
a)
The Fire Chief or Bylaw Enforcement Officer may withhold, suspend or cancel any burning
where that burning creates a hazard or nuisance to persons or property and the Fire Chief or
Bylaw Enforcement Officer may order the extinguishment of any fire that causes a hazard or
nuisance.
b)
The Fire Chief or Bylaw Enforcement Officer may enter at any reasonable time on any
property to ascertain compliance with this Bylaw.
c)
No person shall interfere with or obstruct the Fire Chief or Bylaw Enforcement Officer in
carrying out duties pursuant to this Bylaw.
d)
The Fire Chief or Bylaw Enforcement Officer may order owners or occupiers of property to
do anything, or refrain from doing anything, that is required to comply with this Bylaw.
e)
The Fire Chief or Bylaw Enforcement Officer may order an owner or occupier of property to
extinguish a fire wholly or in part.
9.
Liability
a)
This Bylaw does not create a duty of care in respect of the District, its Council, officials,
officers, employees or agents acting pursuant to this Bylaw, concerning anything required by
this Bylaw or the enforcing or failing to enforce any matter referred to in this Bylaw.
b)
No failure to administer or enforce or incomplete or inadequate administration or
enforcement of the provisions of this Bylaw, nor any error, omission or neglect in relation to
any matter described in this Bylaw shall give rise to a cause of action in favour of any
person.
10.
Attendance at non-compliant burn
Where the District's Fire Department attends a premises for the purpose of extinguishing or
controlling a fire or preventing fire damage to persons or property whether on those premises or
elsewhere and the Fire Chief is reasonably satisfied that the need for the Fire Department's
attendance was attributable to the failure of the owner or occupier of the premises to comply
with this Bylaw, the costs of such attendance, as set out in the District Fees Bylaw, or under any
other bylaw of the District, as amended from time to time, shall be paid by the owner or occupier
of the premises on which the fire was ignited. Fees pursuant to this section are payable within
thirty (30) days of receipt of invoice. Any amount remaining unpaid on December 31 of the year in
which the bill originated may be recovered, with interested at the rate prescribed for unpaid
taxes, and in the same manner as taxes in arrears.
11.
Severance
Added by Bylaw
988 & 1013
Amended by
Bylaw 988
& 1013
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If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph or phrase of this Bylaw is for any reason
declared invalid by a Court of competent jurisdiction, the decision shall not affect the validity of
the rest of this Bylaw.
12.
Offences and Penalties
a)
Any person who contravenes the provisions of this Bylaw commits an offence and is liable to
prosecution pursuant to the provisions of the Offence Act and is liable to a fine of not less
than $100.00 and not more than $2,000.00 and any other penalties imposed under the
Offence Act.
b)
Each day that a person contravenes this Bylaw constitutes a separate offence.
13. Section 13 deleted by Bylaw 988
14.
Repeal
"District of Lake Country Burning Bylaw 97-142" and all amendments thereto are hereby repealed.
15.
Citation
This bylaw may be cited as "Burning Bylaw 612, 2007".
READ A FIRST TIME this 29th day of January, 2008.
READ A SECOND TIME this 29th day of January, 2008.
READ A THIRD TIME this 29th day of January, 2008.
RECONSIDERED AND ADOPTED this 5th day of February, 2008.
"original signed by Mayor James Baker"
"original signed by Hazel Christy"
Mayor
Clerk
I hereby certify the foregoing to be a true and correct copy of the Bylaw cited as "Burning Bylaw 612,
2007" as adopted by the Municipal Council on this 5th day of February, 2008.
________________________________
_____________________________
Dated at Lake Country, B. C.
Clerk
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Schedule A deleted by Bylaw 988 and 1013