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PROPERTY MAINTENANCE BYLAW
BYLAW NO. 07-050
This consolidation is a copy of a bylaw
consolidated under the authority of
section 139 of the Community Charter.
(Consolidated on February 1, 2015 up to
Bylaw No. 10-074)
This bylaw is printed under and by
authority of the Corporate Administrator
of the Corporation of the City of Victoria.
2
Bylaw current to February 1, 2015. To obtain latest amendments, if any, contact Legislative Services at 250-361-0571.
NO. 07-050
PROPERTY MAINTENANCE BYLAW
A BYLAW OF THE CITY OF VICTORIA
(Consolidated to include Bylaws No. 09-049 and 10-074)
The purpose of this Bylaw is to regulate, prohibit, and impose requirements in relation to:
(a)
refuse, garbage and other material that is noxious, offensive or unwholesome;
(b)
the accumulation of water on property;
(c)
weeds or other growths that Council for the City considers should be removed, cut down
or trimmed;
(d)
graffiti and unsightly conditions on property.
Contents
1
Title
2
Definitions
3
Graffiti prohibited on or adjacent to public place
4
Refuse, unsightly property prohibited
5
Weeds prohibited
6
Removal of graffiti, refuse, weeds, unlicensed vehicles
7
Inspection to determine whether bylaw is being followed
8
City's action at defaulter's expense
9
Offences and penalties
10
Severability
11
Repeal
Under its statutory powers, including sections 8(3)(h), 16, 17, 64, 258, and 260 to 263 of the
Community Charter, the Council of the City of Victoria enacts the following provisions:
Title
1
This Bylaw may be cited as the "PROPERTY MAINTENANCE BYLAW".
Definitions
2
In this Bylaw,
"Committee"
means the standing committee of Council known as the Planning and Land Use
Standing Committee.
3
Bylaw current to February 1, 2015. To obtain latest amendments, if any, contact Legislative Services at 250-361-0571.
"graffiti"
(a)
means drawing, printing, or writing that
(i)
is scribbled, scratched, sprayed, painted, or similarly placed
directly, and
(ii)
if it is on private property that is not located on public real
property, is there without the consent of the owner of that private
property, and
(b)
excludes
(i)
signs for which permits have been issued under the Sign Bylaw,
and
(ii)
murals;
"mural"
means a painting
(a)
that is applied directly to the wall of a building with the consent of the
owner of that building, and
(b)
that does not include any text or logo other than the name of the artist;
"real property"
means any parcel of private land within the City of Victoria;
"refuse"
includes, but is not limited to:
(a)
food wastes;
(b)
market wastes;
(c)
combustibles like paper, cardboard, yard trimmings, leaves and brush,
plastics, and leather;
(d)
non-combustibles such as metal, cans, glass, dirt, ashes, and street
sweepings;
(e)
bulky wastes such as furniture, appliances, tires, stumps, recycling, and
construction waste;
(f)
unlicenced, unused, or stripped automobiles, trucks, trailers, boats,
vessels, machinery, mechanical parts, and metal parts;
4
Bylaw current to February 1, 2015. To obtain latest amendments, if any, contact Legislative Services at 250-361-0571.
"unsightly"
means an untidy or otherwise non-aesthetic accumulation of filth, discarded
materials, junk, or refuse on any real property, and includes graffiti.
Graffiti prohibited on or adjacent to public place
3
A person must not place graffiti on a wall, fence, or elsewhere on or adjacent to a public
place.
Refuse, unsightly property prohibited
4
(1)
A person must not do any of the following activities:
(a)
cause or permit water, or refuse, garbage or other material that is
noxious, offensive or unwholesome to collect or accumulate on real
property;
(b)
deposit or throw bottles, broken glass, or other refuse in any open place;
(c)
allow real property, of which that person is the owner or occupier, to
become or remain unsightly;
(d)
post, or cause or authorize the posting of, a notice, handbill, poster, or
advertisement on any property without the consent of the owner of that
property if it is adjacent to a public place.
(2)
For the purposes of the City's enforcement of subsection (1)(d),
(a)
evidence that a notice, handbill, poster, or advertisement was posted
contrary to the provisions of this section may be treated as evidence that
the notice, handbill, poster, or advertisement was placed by the person
who caused or authorized that posting; and
(b)
in the absence of evidence to the contrary, a person, business, or other
establishment that is promoted by a notice, handbill, poster or
advertisement may be presumed to have authorized and caused its
posting.
Weeds prohibited
5
The owner or occupier of real property must not allow to be present on that property
weeds or other growths that
(a)
because of their condition, are likely to spread or become a nuisance to other
real property in the vicinity; or
(b)
are so unkempt as to be unsightly to nearby residents.
5
Bylaw current to February 1, 2015. To obtain latest amendments, if any, contact Legislative Services at 250-361-0571.
Removal of graffiti, refuse, weeds, unlicensed vehicles
6
Every occupier of real property, or its owner if there is no occupier, must remove from
that property:
(a)
graffiti;
(b)
refuse and other material described in section 4(1);
(c)
weeds and other growths described in section 5.
Inspection to determine whether bylaw is being followed
7
(1)
The City's police officers and Bylaw Officers at all reasonable times may enter on
real property to determine whether a requirement set out in sections 3, 4, and
6(a) and (b) is being observed.
(2)
A Bylaw Officer at all reasonable times may enter on real property to determine
whether a requirement set out in sections 5 and 6(c) is being observed.
City's action at defaulter's expense
8
(1)
The City may give written notice to an owner or occupier, who does not take an
action required under section 6, stating that the City will take the action at the
expense of the owner or occupier if that person does not take the action within 14
days of the service of the notice.
(2)
An owner or occupier to whom notice is given under subsection (1) may appeal
the City's proposed action by applying, within 14 days of the service of the notice,
for a hearing by the City's Committee.
(3)
Upon hearing an appeal under subsection (2) the Committee may
(a)
dismiss the appeal;
(b)
extend the time in which the person appealing must undertake the action
required by the notice given under subsection (1); or
(c)
where the Committee determines it is appropriate to do so, vary the
action required to be taken by the person appealing and establish time
limits within which the person appealing must undertake the action.
(4)
The City's police officers, Bylaw Officers, with respect to a matter under section
6(a), (b), or (d), and Bylaw Officers with respect to a matter under section 6(c),
on behalf of the City and at a defaulting person's expense, at reasonable times
and in a reasonable manner, may enter on the real property owned or occupied
by that person and take the action required by a notice given under subsection
(1) if that person does not take the action within 14 days after the service of the
notice, and
(a)
that person has not appealed to the Committee within 14 days of the
service of the notice;
6
Bylaw current to February 1, 2015. To obtain latest amendments, if any, contact Legislative Services at 250-361-0571.
(b)
the Committee, acting under its authority in subsection (3)(a), has
dismissed that person's appeal;
(c)
the Committee has not extended the time in which the person is required
to comply with the action required by the notice given under subsection
(1); or
(d)
the Committee, acting under its authority in subsection (3)(c), has not
varied the action required to be taken by the person appealing.
(5)
If the City takes action under subsection (4) and the costs of the action are not
paid on or before December 31 in the year in which they are incurred,
(a)
they may be recoverable from the person as a debt, or
(b)
they may be collected in the same manner and with the same remedies
as ordinary taxes on the real property on which the action was taken.
(6)
For the purposes of subsection (5)(b), the costs referred to in subsection (5) are
considered to be taxes in arrear.
Offences and penalties
9
(1)
A person who contravenes a provision of this Bylaw is guilty of an offence and is
subject to the following enforcement provisions:
(a)
to the penalties imposed by the Offence Act;
(b)
the issuing and enforcement of a ticket under the Ticket Bylaw.
(2)
Each day that a contravention of a provision of this Bylaw occurs or continues
shall constitute a separate offence.
Severability
10 Each provision of this Bylaw is intended to be independent to the extent that its setting
aside by a court does not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.
Repeal
11 Bylaw 04-65, the Property Maintenance Bylaw, is repealed.
7
Bylaw current to February 1, 2015. To obtain latest amendments, if any, contact Legislative Services at 250-361-0571.
READ A FIRST TIME the
13th
day of
September
2007
READ A SECOND TIME the
13th
day of
September
2007
READ A THIRD TIME the
13th
day of
September
2007
ADOPTED on the
20th
day of
September
2007
"ROBERT G. WOODLAND"
"ALAN LOWE"
CORPORATE ADMINISTRATOR
MAYOR