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THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF
ASHFIELD-COLBORNE-WAWANOSH
BY-LAW NUMBER 14-2019
BEING A BYLAW TO REGULATE AND CONTROL
OPEN AIR BURNING WITHIN
THE TOWNSHIP OF ASHFIELD-COLBORNE-WAWANOSH
WHEREAS Section 8.(1) of the Municipal Act, the powers of a municipality under this or
any other Act shall be interpreted broadly so as to confer broad authority on the municipality
to enable the municipality to govern its affairs as it considers appropriate and to enhance the
municipality's ability to respond to municipal issues. 2006, c. 32, Schedule A, s. 8.
AND WHEREAS Section 9 of the Municipal Act, the Municipality has the capacity, rights,
powers and privileges of a natural person for the purpose of exercising its authority under
this or any other Act. 2006, c 32, Schedule A, s. 8.
AND WHEREAS Section 425(1) of the Municipal Act, a Municipality may pass bylaws
providing that a person who contravenes a bylaw of the municipality passed under this Act
is guilty of an offence. 2006, c. 32, Schedule A, s. 184.
AND WHEREAS Section 446(1) of the Municipal Act, S.O. 2001, c. 25, permits the
municipality to cause remedial action and recover the costs of so doing;
AND WHEREAS Part 2 subsection 7.1 (1) of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act 1997,
c. 4 allows a Council of a municipality to pass by-laws regulating the setting of open air
fires, including establishing times during which open air fires may be set;
AND WHEREAS Section 2.6.3.4 of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997 reaffirms
that open-air burning shall not be permitted unless approved, or unless such burning consists
of a small, confined fire, supervised at all times;
AND WHEREAS the Council of the Corporation of the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-
Wawanosh deems it desirable to pass such a bylaw to regulate the setting and burning of
open air fires.
NOW THEREFORE the Council of the Corporation of the Township Ashfield-Colborne-
Wawanosh hereby enacts as follows:
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1.0
SHORT TITLE
This Bylaw may be cited as "Burning Bylaw;
2.0
DEFINITIONS
For the purpose of this By-law,
a) "Approved Outdoor Fire Container" means a container approved by the Fire Chief
or Bylaw Enforcement Officer as set out in Schedule "A" of this Bylaw;
b) "Barbeque" means a manufactured device or structure with a grill which is
designed, intended and used solely for the purpose of cooking food outdoors, and
includes a hibachi, but does not include devices or structures designed for personal
warmth, fire pits, or Outdoor Fire Containers;
c) "By-law Enforcement Officer" means an individual designated by Council to
enforce the by-laws of the Corporation of the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-
Wawanosh;
d) "Council" means the elected Council of the Corporation of the Township of
Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh;
e) "Fire Chief" means the Fire Chief of the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-
Wawanosh; Fire Department or his/her designate;
f)
"Fire Department" means firefighting or fire protection services of the Township
of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh and includes any person duly appointed to the
Fire Department by Council or the Fire Chief;
g) "Household Waste" means combustible material such as household plastics,
polyethylene terephthalate (PET), paints, oils, solvents, rubber, insulation,
batteries, acids, polystyrenes (Styrofoam), pressure treated or painted lumber,
tires, upholstered furniture, synthetic fabrics, diapers and hazardous wastes as
defined in the Environmental Protection Act, and all other similar and like
materials but shall not include untreated wood and wood fibre products such as
un-laminated paper and cardboard and boxboard, brush and leaves;
h) "Municipality" means the Corporation of the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-
Wawanosh;
i)
"No Open Burning Area" means all properties classed as "Settlement Area,
Natural Environment" or classed as "Other" as identified in the Municipalities
Zoning By-Law #32-2008 as amended from time to time;
j)
"Open Air Burning" means the ignition and incineration by fire of combustible
materials but does not include a "small confined fire" and is allowed only in "Open
Air Burning Area;
k) "Open Burning Area" means all properties classed as "Agricultural Area,
Extractive Resource, or Recreational" as identified in the Municipalities Zoning
By-Law #32-2008 as amended from time to time;
l)
"Open Burn Ban" means a ban on open burning, the effective dates and conditions
of which are declared by the Chief of the Fire Department.
m) "Owner" means the legal owner or registered lessee of any real property in
response area of the Fire Department who has the right of access to and control of
any land, building or premises to which any of the provisions of this by-law apply.
n) "Person" means any individual, association, firm, partnership, corporation, agent
or trustee and their heirs, executors, or other legal representatives thereof;
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o) "Prohibited
Materials"
means Household Waste, rubber or rubber products,
plastic or plastic products, and waste petroleum products and any material or
materials which are prohibited by the Environmental Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990,
Chapter E.19, as amended;
p) "Small Confined Fire" generally means of no greater size than required for
cooking, or for the burning of yard waste, in an approved outdoor fire container,
this relative term shall be defined at the scene by the By-law Officer, Fire Chief
or OPP Officer attending using his/her discretion with regard to relative location
and safety factors;
q) "Yard Waste" means brush and wood chips;
3.0 BURNING AREAS WITHIN THE MUNICIPALITY
a) Within the "No Open Air Burning Area" the following are permitted:
I)
Domestic barbeques or permanent outdoor grills used solely for the purpose
of cooking food on a grill and are extinguished immediately upon completion
of the cooking process;
II) small confined fires in an approved outdoor fire container used for the
purpose of cooking, or the burning of yard waste, supervised at all times and
conforms to the requirements, as defined in Schedule "A" of this By-law;
b) Within the "Open Air Burning Area", under no circumstances are prohibited
materials as defined by this by-law, including but not limited to paint, solvent,
rubber (e.g. tires), wire (including coating), plastics, asphalt and shingles, and
toxic chemicals (e.g. pesticides),or materials that violate the regulations of the
Ministry of the Environment to be burned, ignited or added to the fire at any time.
4.0 OPEN BURN BAN
a) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Bylaw, the Fire Chief may institute an open
burn ban at any time, as may be deemed necessary in the opinion of the Fire Chief
and it is in the interests of public safety, no person, organization, partnership,
company or group shall be entitled to a "small contained fire" or "open air
burning" during a burn ban.
b) Should any person, organization, partnership, company or group commit an act in
contravention of an open burn ban, a fee of $1000.00 will be issued to the owner
of the real property and will be payable upon receipt.
5.0 ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT:
a) This by-law shall be administered and enforced by the Fire Chief, Bylaw
Enforcement Officer of the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh or his/her
designates, or the Ontario Provincial Police.
b) Every person who contravenes any provision of this Bylaw is guilty of an offence
and upon conviction is liable to a fine pursuant to the provisions of the Provincial
Offences Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.33 as amended.
c) In the event that a "Small Confined Fire" or "Open Air Burning" starts grass,
brush and or other materials and burns out of control and requires the assistance
of fire fighting or fire protection services of the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-
Wawanosh or any other municipality, then all costs in connection with providing
this assistance shall be borne by the assessed owner of the property subject to the
fire either deliberately set or otherwise ignited.
d) The Municipality may, in default of the owner failing to pay the costs described
in any section of this Bylaw, may pay the cost on his or her behalf and recover the
costs incurred as municipal taxes as set out in the Municipal Fees and Charges
Bylaw.
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e) Council of the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh may revoke
any part of this Bylaw for a specific time in the event of a natural disaster. This
may include flood, tornado or another act of nature.
6.0 VALIDITY
Should any part, section or provision of this Bylaw be declared by a Court of
competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the same shall not affect the validity of this Bylaw
as a whole or in part thereof, other than the part which was declared to be invalid.
7.0 REPEAL OF FORMER BYLAWS
The provisions under this Bylaw shall apply if any other by-law is found to be
inconsistent with this By-law and hereby repeals Bylaw #52-2012.
8.0 EFFECTIVE DATE
This Bylaw shall come into force and effect immediately upon the day of final passing
thereof.
Read a FIRST and SECOND time this 5th day of February 2019.
Read a THIRD TIME and FINALLY PASSED this 5th day of February 2019.
________________________________________
Original Signed By:
Reeve, Glen McNeil
________________________________________
Original Signed By:
Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer, Mark Becker
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SCHEDULE "A"
TOWNSHIP OF ASHFIELD-COLBORNE-WAWANOSH
APPROVED OUTDOOR FIRE CONTAINER AND REGULATIONS
An approved Outdoor Fire Container shall be constructed of non-combustible materials such
as a metal container, a steel barrel, tire rim or any other container approved by the Fire Chief
or By-Law Enforcement Officer;
An approved container shall be no larger than two (2) feet (61 cm) by two (2) feet (61 cm)
by two (2) feet (61 cm) or 8 cubic feet (0.26 cubic metres) in size;
The container shall have a wire mesh or expanded sheet metal screen with a maximum mesh
size of 1 inch (25 mm) covering the open top of the container;
The container shall be placed on base mineral soil, bare rock, cement or non-combustible
material;
Children under the age of 18 years are prohibited from igniting fires or being in a supervisory
role;
Appropriate extinguishing agents (e.g. Water hose, sand, or fire extinguishers) will be on-
hand at all times during the preparation of the fire, while the fire is underway, and until the
fire is fully and completely extinguished;
No person shall burn materials other than yard waste, or commercially produced charcoal,
briquettes, or clean, dry seasoned wood, but not including painted wood, pressure treated
wood or creosote treated wood;
Under no circumstances are paint, solvent, rubber (e.g. tires), wire (including coating),
plastics, asphalt and shingles, and toxic chemicals (e.g. pesticides),or materials that violate
the regulations of the Ministry of the Environment to be burned, ignited or added to the fire
at any time;
No person shall burn wood having dimensions greater than the size of the outdoor fire
container and the wood shall be totally confined within the container at all times;
Every person burning a small confined fire must provide for a minimum distance of 10 feet
(3 m) in all directions from any combustible material;
Every person conducting a small confined fire must attend, control and supervise the same
at all times and shall completely extinguish the fire before it is vacated;
No person shall conduct small confined fire when the wind speed exceeds10 mph (16 km/h)
or during rainy or foggy weather or at times when a smog alert has been declared by the
Ministry of the Environment and Energy for Ontario or any successor and relevant Ministry;