Tantramar council has passed first reading of a new bylaw respecting dangerous and unsightly premises in the new municipality. Both Sackville and Dorchester had similar bylaws before they were dissolved, which established mostly complaint-driven processes that could be used to eventually require property owners to make repairs or clean up their properties.<\/p>\n
While the new Tantramar bylaw is a carbon copy of those previous by-laws, it would extend to cover the full Tantramar municipality, which includes many rural areas.<\/p>\n
Councillors Mike Tower and Barry Hicks both chimed in with concerns about how applying town and village standards across the municipality might backfire, especially when it came to items like wood shavings and sawdust. But it turns out changes to the bylaw aren\u2019t possible, because the provincial act that allows municipalities to create dangerous and unsightly bylaws also dictates the bylaw itself, and it\u2019s one-size-fits-all.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat you\u2019re saying is the way that it is set out by the Municipalities Act is we have the choice to have a dangerous and unsightly premises by-law or not, and if we choose to have it, this is the one we get,\u201d said Coun. Allison Butcher on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Though the text of the by-law comes \"as is,\" Mayor Andrew Black said the municipality would have discretion over how the bylaw was enforced.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t make adjustments to it, which is unfortunate,\u201d said Black, \u201cbut in the enforcement of the bylaw, we can have some leniency as to what constitutes a violation or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Acting treasurer Michael Beal, who has supervised Sackville bylaw enforcement for 20 years, said the complaint-driven system was always a challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat one person feels is unsightly may not be what the other person feels is unsightly,\u201d said Beal. \u201cA lot of times we are able to open and close these files through a discussion, through a just general communication,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s only been a couple of occasions in Sackville and I believe a couple in Dorchester where they\u2019ve had to go to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beal also pointed out the the bylaw does not apply to legal uses of properties, meaning that farms and garages can\u2019t be held to the same standard as a residential neighbourhood home.<\/p>\n
Council voted unanimously to approve first reading of the by-law on Tuesday, with councillor Bruce Phinney suggesting approaching the province to help make changes to the bylaw in future. Mayor Black agreed, and also lamented the fact that the local governance reform process hadn\u2019t already tackled the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis probably should have been talked about by the provincial government during the reform process,\u201d said Black. \u201cAnother situation where I think it was an oversight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Council had previously discussed taxation issues in the new municipality, and with the added questions surrounding the limitations the province places on municipalities, Councillor Michael Tower wondered if Local Government Minister Daniel Allain himself might take an interest.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe we could reach out to Mr. Allain,\u201d said Tower. \u201cWe can get him down here and run some of these things by him.\u201d That prompted a laugh and a joke from the mayor. \u201cDo you want me to get you his phone number and you can give him a call?\u201d asked Black, with a smile.<\/p>\n
The bylaw will now come back again to council for a second and third reading at their May meeting. Prior to that, the draft By-Law in its entirety will be posted on the Sackville and Dorchester websites and will be available for review with the Tantramar Clerk\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
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