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Bylaw 525 Property Maintenance and Standards Bylaw
VILLAGE OF MIDWAY
BYLAW NO. 525, 2020
A BYLAW TO REGULATE PROPERTY MAINTENANCE AND STANDARDS
WHEREAS the intent of the Property Maintenance and Standards Bylaw is to protect and
enhance the well-being of the community from nuisances, graffiti and unsightly conditions, and
to prescribe standards for the maintenance of private property;
AND WHEREAS pursuant to Sections 8(3)(h) and 64 of the Community Charter, the Village is
authorized to regulate, prohibit and impose requirements in relation to nuisances, refuse,
garbage, or other material that is noxious, offensive or unwholesome, unsanitary conditions,
graffiti, unsightly conditions, weeds or other growths that Council considers should be
removed, cut down or trimmed on a property;
The Council of the Village of Midway, in open meeting assembled, hereby enacts as follows:
TITLE
1.
This Bylaw may be cited as "Property Maintenance and Standards Bylaw 525, 2020.
DEFINITIONS
2.
In this Bylaw:
a)
"Bylaw Enforcement Officer" means a person or persons appointed by Council
as a Bylaw enforcement Officer;
b)
"Council" means the Village of Midway;
c)
"Graffiti" means drawing, printing or writing scratched, sprayed, painted,
scribbled or placed on a wall, fence, or other surface which is visible from a
highway, sidewalk, park or other public place, but does not include a sign for
which a permit has been issued by the Village;
d)
"Noxious Weeds" means those weeds designated by the regulations under the
Weed Control Act, (British Columbia).
e)
"Order" means an order under Sections 7 and 8 of this Bylaw;
f)
"Owner" means the registered Owner of Real Property, or an authorized agent
of the Owner;
Bylaw 525 Property Maintenance and Standards Bylaw
g)
"Person" means an individual, owner, occupier, association, corporation, firm,
political body, co-partnership or similar organization and their heirs, executors,
successors and assignees, or other legal representative, whether action alone or
by servant, agent or employee;
h)
"Real Property" means any land and any structures and improvement thereon in
the Village;
i)
"Rubbish" means filth, rubbish, discarded materials, noxious, offensive or
unwholesome matter including, but not limited to:
- Decaying or non-decaying solid or semi-solid wastes, food wastes, market
wastes;
- Combustibles such as paper, cardboard, yard trimmings and brush, logs,
stumps, wood waste;
- non-combustibles such as metal cans and metal materials, plastics,
leathers, glass containers, glass, crockery, glass materials, dirt, ashes from
fireplaces and on-site incinerators, street sweepings;
- bulky wastes such as furniture, household items and materials, appliance,
tires, derelict or dismantled bicycles and parts, vehicle parts, derelicts
lawn equipment, construct and demolition waste, trade waste;
- derelicts, dismantled, unused, dilapidated, inoperable vehicles, derelict
recreational vehicles, campers, utility trailers, boat trailers, transport
trailers, derelict boats, derelict vessels, derelict machinery, derelict
mechanical and metal parts;
j)
"Temporary Shelter" means a structure, improvement, shield or cover that
protects people or things and includes a tent, lean-to or other shelter made of
cardboard, tarpaulin, plastics, metal, logs, brush, branches, or other materials or
things;
k)
"Vehicle" means any vehicle as defined in the Motor Vehicle Act and shall
include, but not be limited to, snowmobiles, dirt bikes, and all-terrain vehicles;
k)
"Village" means the Village of Midway;
PROPERTY MAINTENANCE STANDARDS
3.
An owner or occupier of Real Property, must not cause, permit, suffer or allow any of
the following to occur, accumulate or remain on the property:
a)
Rubbish, or other material that is noxious, offensive or unwholesome;
b)
unsanitary conditions, including water, other than in accordance with a Bylaw of
the Village of Midway; or an enactment of British Columbia or Canada;
Bylaw 525 Property Maintenance and Standards Bylaw
c)
Graffiti and unsightly conditions; and
d)
Noxious Weeds.
4.
An owner or occupier of Real Property must comply with the following:
a)
ensure that lawn grass is trimmed so that its height does not exceed 20
centimetres;
b)
remove diseased or hazardous trees that have been identified in an Order made
under this bylaw as a substantial risk to Village owned property and
infrastructure in the vicinity;
c)
vegetation visible from roads, public areas, parks, trails, neighbours and adjacent
lands must be maintained in a neat and orderly manner, and healthy condition,
including being adequately pruned, trimmed, watered and cultivated
appropriate to the species, and maintained free of disease and parasites;
d)
overgrown, unkempt, or uncultivated vegetation must be removed, cut down as
close to the ground as possible, or cared for in accordance with section 4a) and
c);
AUTHORITY TO ENTER
5.
Bylaw Enforcement Officers are hereby authorized to enter at all reasonable times and
in a reasonable manner upon any property within the Village for the purposes of
determining if all regulations, prohibitions and requirements of this bylaw are met.
ORDERS
6.
When a Person has failed to comply with obligations under this Bylaw, the Village Chief
Administrative Officer or Bylaw Enforcement Officer may issue a written Order to that
Person that requires that Person to remove the contravention or rectify the breach of
this Bylaw:
a)
within 30 days; or
b)
immediately, if the contravention relates to a health, safety or
environmental matter of immediate concern; and
c)
the Order under this Section will specify steps that must be taken and a
time frame and may address any conditions or circumstances to the
property and the Person to whom the Order is directed.
Bylaw 525 Property Maintenance and Standards Bylaw
7.
An Order made under this Bylaw is sufficiently delivered when a copy is:
(a)
mailed to the Owner of the property by ordinary or express mail;
(b)
personally, delivered to the Owner of the Real Property or to an occupant
who an adult;
(c)
in the case of a corporate Owner or occupier, by delivering it by
registered mail to its registered officer or business premises, or by
personally delivering it to a director, manager, secretary or another
executive officer; or
(d)
posted on the Real Property that is the subject of the notice by a Bylaw
Enforcement Officer if the Owner or occupier cannot be found or appears
to refuse delivery.
APPEALS
8.
A Person in receipt of an Order under this Bylaw may contest the Order by
informing the Village Chief Administrative Officer in writing within 7 days of
receipt, that the Person wishes to appear before the Council to appeal the Order.
9.
Upon receipt of an appeal, the Order will be suspended until heard by Council
and a decision given.
10.
Upon hearing a Person in receipt of an Order, staff and any other affected
persons, Council may affirm, vary or revoke the Order.
REMEDIATION
11.
Where a Person fails to comply with an Order and has not contested the Order,
the Village or its agents or contractors may enter upon the Real Property to fulfill
the requirements of the Order at the expense of that Person and may recover
the costs incurred by the Village as a debt.
12.
If the costs incurred by the Village for work done or services provided to Real
Property are not paid in full on or before December 31 of the year in which the
work was done or services provided, the amount owing may be collected as a
debt due and recoverable in a court of competent jurisdiction, or in the same
manner as for the property taxes, plus and administration fee of fifty ($50)
dollars in accordance with Sections 231 and 258 of the Community Charter.
Bylaw 525 Property Maintenance and Standards Bylaw
ENFORCEMENT, OFFENCE AND PENALTY
13.
This Bylaw may be enforced by the Village Chief Administrative Officer or by a
Bylaw Enforcement Officer, who may be assisted by other employees, officers,
authorized agents or contractors of the Village, or a peace officer, and may
include RCMP as considered necessary in the circumstances.
14.
A Person who:
a)
contravenes, violates or fails to comply with any provision of, or Order
issued under, this Bylaw;
b)
suffers or allows any act or thing to be done in contravention of this
Bylaw or any Order issued under this Bylaw; or
c)
fails or neglects to do anything required to be done under this Bylaw or
any Order issued under this Bylaw;
commits an offence against this Bylaw which may be enforced by any means
permitted by the Community Charter, including by ticket in the form prescribed
by Regular to same.
15.
For certainty, a Person who commits an offence against this Bylaw is liable to pay
a fine of not less than $150.00 and not more than Ten Thousand ($10,000.00)
Dollars, and the cost of prosecution;
16.
A Person who interferes, hinders, or obstructs anyone designated in Sections 5
and 14 in the performance of their duties under this Bylaw is liable to pay a fine
of $500.00.
17.
Where the offence is a continuing one, each day that the offence is continued
shall constitute a separate offence.
SEVERABILITY
18.
If any section or phrase of this Bylaw is for any reason held to be invalid by a
decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, the decision shall not affect the
validity of the remaining portions of this Bylaw.
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REPEAL
29.
The "Village of Midway Unsightly Premises Bylaw 390, 2007" and all
amendments are repealed.
READ a first time on the
20th
day of April
, 2020.
READ a second time on the
20th
day of April
, 2020.
READ a third time on the
20th
day of April
, 2020.
ADOPTED the
4th
day of May
, 2020.
_________________________________
_________________________________
Mayor
Chief Administrative Officer