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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCRPS-10-014 - Amendment to Council Policy I-227 - Enforcement By-lawsREPORT REPORT TO: Finance and Corporate Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: March 8, 2010 SUBMITTED BY: Troy Speck, General Manager of Corporate Services PREPARED BY: Shayne Turner, Director of By-law Enforcement WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: March 1, 2010 REPORT NO.: CRPS-10-014 SUBJECT: ENFORCEMENT POLICY I-227 RECOMMENDATION: That staff formulate amendments to Enforcement Policy I-227 in accordance with the principles outlined in Council Report No. CRPS-10-014, and present the proposed amendments at a future meeting of the Finance and Corporate Services Committee. BACKGROUND: Enforcement Policy I-227, copy attached, was implemented in its current state in 1994, with a minor revision in 2002. The fundamental purpose of the Policy is to provide guidance to Enforcement staff with respect to how they undertake a variety of their duties. The By-law Enforcement Division was created in January of 2002, and has, over time, refined their operational processes to address the current needs of the Corporation and the community. Staff believe it is time to review Policy I-227 to ensure that it reflects their current operational processes. In addition, staff advise that they continue to be challenged by a couple of issues that are having an impact on the allocation and prioritizing of resources as well as a community impact. These relate to: 1. On-going neighbour disputes whereby neighbours appear to be using municipal staff to deal with concerns they have with each other, and it is obvious that there is no reasonable opportunity that staff actions alone will be able to adequately resolve the dispute. 2. Situations where an individual will submit multiple complaints to the Division, from across a wide area of the City. ç ó ï Staff wish to engage Council in a discussion with regard to how Policy I-227 may help address the above noted issues. REPORT: Revisions to Existing Policy It is staff’s opinion that our current processes appear to be logical in terms of addressing the needs of the community. Thus, it is their proposal to revise the Enforcement Policy where needed, to reflect their current processes. Areas that may require attention include assigning more priority to graffiti issues, revising the policy as it relates to first time zoning offences and the minor variance process (section 4), as well as the process relating to optional notification for repeat offenders (section 5). Additional Policy Guidelines In terms of looking at policies relating to multiple complaints and neighbour disputes, it is important to consider the most appropriate use of staff resources. Equally important is how we assign priorities based on community, operational and seasonal needs. In essence it is about balancing safety and the needs of individuals with the needs of the community as a whole. It is important to understand the fundamental purpose of by-law enforcement, which is to regulate safety as well as aesthetics and streetscapes, and promote a reasonable standard of enjoyment with one’s property and within neighbourhoods. Municipal by-laws, and enforcement resources, should not be used as tools to perpetuate neighbour disputes or create unrest in otherwise amicable situations. Other municipalities also grapple with these challenges, however there is little that could be found in terms of formal policies in those other areas. Anecdotal information obtained reveals that most municipalities, have from time to time, decided not to act on particular complaint situation based on the circumstances at the time. Staff realize that each situation can be different and must be scrutinized based on its own merits, however they are looking for some guidelines that are agreeable to Council to help guide their decisions. Submission of Multiple Complaints Staff report several instances whereby a person has submitted multiple complaints (8-10) in a single occurrence or lesser numbers of complaints but on many occasions. In many instances the complaints relate to addresses that are located a fair distance from where the complainant may live and may have very little, if any, direct impact on the complainant. Situations have arose whereby staff have advised property owners of a violation that may have existed for many years without any apparent negative impact on the neighbourhood. Further, some such situations have involved property owners who have purchased the property after the violation may have originated. ç ó î Further, staff have also experienced situations whereby a complaint originating from outside of a neighbourhood has contributed to a level of unrest in a neighbourhood. For example, residents begin to suspect others in their neighbourhood who truly have nothing to do with the matter. Given that staff must keep complainant information confidential, they have little discretion in terms of providing information that will curb the unrest. An option is to develop some policy guidelines that would give staff a level of discretion to decide when to act or not to act on a series of multiple complaints. Staff’s decision on how they will respond, could have regard to criteria such as: - safety - risk and liability - available resources - potential impact on the complainant - potential impact of not responding - is the violation obvious to the neighbourhood - impact on the immediate neighbourhood - complaints that appear to result from a form of vendetta or retribution Staff understand that there must be a level of comfort that they will use this level of discretion appropriately, and ensure that the needs of the community are met, while at the same time ensuring the most appropriate use of resources. An additional option would be to assign a lower priority to the multiple complaints, advising that the complaints will be investigated when time and resources reasonably allow. On-going Neighbour Disputes Although it is not an overly common occurrence, staff have experienced challenges in dealing with some situations between neighbours, where it has become obvious that staff’s involvement will not be able to achieve a reasonably resolution to their dispute. Unfortunately, some situations exist whereby there is virtually nothing further that City resources can do to resolve the dispute. In some of these situations it has become apparent that the City’s by-laws are viewed as a means of the neighbours attempting to aggravate each other, and the particular by-law matter is typically not associated with the root cause of the dispute. Staff are attempting to form some guidelines to help them in deciding when to suspend any further involvement in a neighbour dispute when they have attempted to resolve the dispute, using various means, to no avail. It must be understood that, with this comes the potential that staff may choose not to enforce a by-law violation that is minor in nature, and not safety related, An option is to develop some policy guidelines that would give staff a level of discretion to decide when to suspend further involvement or take no further action in a neighbour dispute. Staff’s decision could have regard to criteria such as: - safety - liability and risk - history of attempts to mediate by staff - offer for formal mediation - the number of unfounded complaints ç ó í - apparent attempts to purposely aggravate the situation Staff understand that there must be a level of comfort with the community and Council that they will ensure that everything reasonably possible has been tried or offered before choosing to suspend further enforcement action. Subject to Council’s input and direction, it is staff’s intent to prepare an amended Enforcement Policy and present it to members of Council at a future meeting. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: None identified at this time. COMMUNICATIONS: No Corporate Communications is required. However, staff will be discussing these concepts with members of a variety of neighbourhood associations. CONCLUSION: Staff believe it is appropriate to revise Enforcement Policy I-227 to reflect the By-law Enforcement Division’s current processes and to provide guidelines for staff when addressing more challenging issues that have an impact on staff resources, priorities and an impact on neighbourhoods. Such issues include on-going neighbour disputes and situations whereby multiple complaints are submitted by a single source. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Troy Speck, General Manager of Corporate Services Encl. ç ó ì ç ó ë ç ó ê