Municipal Bylaws: Enforcement, Compliance or Service?

It is summertime and the Okanagan is thriving with tourists and recreational activities. The weather is beautiful and our orchards are ripe with Mother Nature's goodness. Our lakes offer an amazing amenity for those who come from other areas and try to enjoy what we have all year around. But with that, some trouble comes too. Lack of parking, noise, unsightly premises and other issues cause frictions that can become hotter than the weather we are enjoying these days.

The local newspapers picked on Lake Country's bylaw system of enforcement to make an issue of it and hammer on a seasonal diatribe that is increasing and will continue to increase with the rising and well established popularity of beautiful Okanagan Valley in beautiful British Columbia.

Until a few months ago, Lake Country did not have a Bylaw Enforcement Department. This service was provided through a contract agreement with the BC Commissionaires. Unless you have in-house officers, there are limitations to what can be accomplished through contracted services. The decision was made by Council to bring this service in-house and begin a more organized approach to enforcement.

We can discuss Bylaw Enforcement for ages. It is indeed a complex topic. I am not going to do that. However, I wish to clarify some basic points and foundational principles that, I hope, can bring some understanding of this service.

Local Governments have the authority to adopt bylaws for a number of issues for which they have jurisdiction. Most of these bylaws have enforcement provisions and the taxpayers expect those provisions to be applied. This is a reasonable expectation but it cannot be done every time.

First of all, the reason why we have bylaws is to regulate public behaviour and to accomplish peace and order in our community (I did not say society because that is a responsibility of other levels of government, and laws exist to that effect). So each community has different regulations about same or similar behaviours. For instance noise issues are different in Kelowna, or for that matter Peachland and other municipalities, than in Lake Country. Enforcement regulations are also different because the bylaws differ as well.

Because the primary purpose of bylaws is to have peace and order in the community, the effect that we wish to obtain is compliance. In other words, if a local government decided to have any loud noise cease at 11pm every night and someone, either not knowing the bylaw or wanting to push the proverbial button, has a party that creates loud noise beyond that 11pm time limit, that local government final goal is to have that individual refraining from repeating that behaviour in the future. In fact, to cease the behaviour immediately.

The odds are that infractions happen every day and many times. The area under our jurisdiction is also fairly large (48 square miles) and we can afford only one (yes 1) Bylaw Officer. The rest can be easily guessed. We can only do what we can. So Lake Country's policy is that we first act if we receive a complaint. And we receive a number of them. The one and only officer has limited time and resources and is spread thin trying to respond to complaints and investigate issues. He seeks compliance first and then, if after reasonable time is given compliance is not obtained, 'enforcement' is applied. 

Enforcement can be done in a number of ways and because we brought this service in-house only recently, we are equipping ourselves with all the tools needed to make life easier to our Bylaw Officer in responding more effectively, timely and efficiently to bylaw infraction issues. I think that by next Summer will be more effective in the delivery of this service because the tools, or the majority of them, will be in place by then.

I also wish to clarify what Bylaw Enforcement is not.  

1. It is not a way to solve a dispute between neighbours. If you have a grudge against your neighbour and you believe there is a bylaw infraction, chances are that it may not be so and our Bylaw Officer will tell you that. You will not be happy, but a civil dispute can only be dealt with civilly and through the courts. We can't give your neighbour a ticket because his fence line is within your property. It is not against our Zoning Bylaw or our Subdivision Bylaw. 
2. Even if you have the right to go to Council and ask for leniency about a bylaw infraction you committed, Council can only deal with the bylaw or policy, not with the individual infraction. Bylaws are applied to all citizens, no exceptions. Those who commit an infraction have always an excuse. If you wish to fight it, again, you have legal recourse. But Council will politely listen but will not be able to ask the Bylaw Officer to reverse his decision.
3. Our Bylaw Officer is not a police officer. He does not work shifts, he does not deal with crime, and he does not deal with vandalism, altercations, drunks and so on. He only deals with municipal bylaws and those only. And he does it from 8:30 in the morning to 4:30 in the afternoon. The RCMP has the authority to deal with municipal bylaws after hours. So, if there is excessive noise at night and you wish to have it dealt with immediately, you can call the police. But beware that they will put the call on a priority roster. If there is an accident or a crime happening, that will take precedence.

Now, one of the tools we are setting up is to have an Adjudication System which will provide a form of appeal of penalties applied for bylaw infractions. We are working on it and we hope to have it ready by the Fall.

In the meantime, please behave, and enjoy what is left of this beautiful summer.

adf