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PLUMBING • HEATING • HVAC SERVICES •
Vol. 11, Issue 35 ANNUAL
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From Environment Canada
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12
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SUN., OCT. 4
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New fees for open burn violations By Mark Ribble LEAMINGTON — Residents burning in their backyard without an open burn permit will now have a new fee structure when it comes to charges issued for burning without said permit. Prior to 2020, anyone caught burning without a permit was subject to a fine of $125, issued by the municipality. In budget deliberations for 2020, council passed a bylaw authorizing new fees for burning without a permit within the municipality. Those fees have been in effect for the entire year and some residents were upset by the invoice they received. A $250 fee was issued in 2020 if you were burning without a permit within regular business hours and the duty officer had to make a visit to your property. If it was after hours, you were subject to a $477 fee (plus HST) for a visit from the entire duty squad. With complaints coming in from residents about the fees, council was given three options to choose from to help the situation. In the end they settled on option three, which allows for just a $125 fee to be invoiced to the property owner for a first offence, provided they are not burning any illegal items. After that, they would be subject to the regular fees mentioned above. This option allows for those who perhaps did not know about the burning bylaws to get some relief when it comes to fees. It’s important to note that an open burn permit is required anywhere in the municipality and those permits are available for $20 per year. Anyone who previously had a permit was given an extension this year because of COVID. In 2019, there were 420 open burn permits issued in LeamJOHN HAMMOND ington and so far in 2020, that number has dropped to 165. Leamington Fire Chief Andrew Baird spoke on the issue to council and informed them that many of the calls came in through 9-1-1, which prompts a full response from the fire department, pulling valuable resources away from other, more urgent issues. The fees were put in place this year to recoup some of the lost dollars from the fire department needing to attend these burn complaints. According to administration, so far in 2020, they’ve issued 26 invoices for burning without a permit, resulting in eight of them being invoiced for $250 plus tax, while the other 18 were invoiced for $477 plus tax, with the entire duty squad attending. BURN PERMITS - Continued on Page 2
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IT’S THE GREAT PUMPKIN!
KINGSVILLE — The fall season is well underway and it’s most evident at local farms and orchards. Allsop Pumpkin Farm, at 195 Rd. 3 East in Kingsville, provides wagon rides, play areas, a corn maze and of course, pumpkins to help families get into the fall feel. Here, Leanne and Lucas Desha sit atop a couple of the giant pumpkins on display at Allsop Farm on Sunday, September 27. Allsop Farm is open from 8am to dusk, seven days a week, with COVID-19 protocols in place. Sun photo
Pigeon by-law introduced after neighbours cry ‘fowl’
LEAMINGTON — At the Leamington council meeting of September 22, administration brought forward a recommendation for a by-law to regulate the raising of pigeons within the municipality. Over the past couple of years, Leamington has received numerous complaints from residents about their neighbours having pigeons within the urban area. Current zoning does not permit the keeping of livestock outside of the agricultural zones of the municipality. The new bylaw will regulate how
many pigeons can be kept, the spaces they are kept in, cleanliness of that space and that they only be kept on properties zoned agricultural. This also provides for residents to keep pigeons for sport, provided they live on an agricultural-zoned property.
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