Residents of Airdrie will face lower fines for infractions under the Community Standards Bylaw after Airdrie City council approved changes that will see fines lowered to $300 from $500 for a first offense at their meeting on Sept. 2.
If a fine is paid within five business days of the ticket being issued, the amount will decrease to $100 under the new changes.
The Community Standards Bylaw was enacted in 2013 and was driven by concerns voiced by residents about things like unsightly properties, the abuse of handicapped parking stalls, and noise control.
Darryl Poburan, manager of Municipal Enforcement, RCMP and Building Inspections, presented council with a report that outlined the number of citations issued since the bylaw went into effect in 2013.
From May 1, 2013 to April 30, 2014, a total of 125 tickets were issued and the City collected $61,150 in fines.
Mayor Peter Brown noted that only one citation had been issued for an untidy or unsightly property.
Poburan explained that residents are given time to clean up when they are initially presented with an unsightly property citation, and a ticket rarely needs to be written.
“We give them a notice. The notice can vary a bit. The bylaw is 21 days,” Poburan explained.
“Most of the time it’s long grass. The majority of the time we come back and they’ve cut the grass so we close the file, without issuing a ticket.”
“We don’t get many complaints about properties with garbage everywhere,” he added.
“That’s probably what the fine was. If we do bring in a company (to clean up an untidy property), then that goes on the taxes and the homeowner has to pay the cost.”
Council also approved a change to the bylaw that addresses concerns raised by home builders about the requirement that all construction bins have lids and that the lids be closed at all time.
“We’ve changed the bylaw quite a bit so (the home builder) can have the lid open during the day,” he explained.
Poburan said City staff met with representatives from the Calgary Region Canadian Home Builder’s Association, home builders and waste management companies in April 2014, to discuss the issue.
The changes to the bylaw dealing with construction waste, bins and bin placement were a direct result of that meeting, according to Poburan.
“The one thing we did find out when we met with the home builders is they felt the bylaw was working,” Poburan said.
“I can agree with that. I definitely think the bylaw is working and we don’t see the garbage that we once saw in Airdrie. Although it’s not perfect, it’s way better than it was.”
