Tiny mayor, chief bylaw officer: just say no to abandoned roadside items

While the clarification of a recent misunderstanding resulted in no change to a Tiny Township waste bylaw, it did allow the chief bylaw officer to remind residents not to leave discarded items at the end of their driveways for weeks.

As per the Tiny clean yards and property standards page on the township website, it states that no person shall use any land or structure within the township for dumping, disposing, storing or keeping refuse – being debris, domestic and/or industrial waste – of any kind. The definitions further state "cast aside, discarded, or abandoned items of no particular value."

At the recent committee of the whole meeting, a notice of motion by Coun. Steffen Walma sought to give Tiny Township the delegated authority to enforce roadside and household refuse bylaw.

Members of council noted that waste collection was enacted through Simcoe County, and in asking whether a new bylaw would need to be created, it allowed chief municipal law enforcement officer Steve Harvey to expand on both the township’s and the county’s roles.

“(Walma and I) had a hallway chat,” said Harvey, “and I think there might have been a misunderstanding. I’d like to clarify that the way the County of Simcoe bylaw is worded, that any municipal law enforcement officer in the County of Simcoe can enforce that bylaw. If there was a specific situation today that I needed to, I would have the authority to do that.”

Harvey praised the county bylaw enforcement team and their handling of waste management collection, and noted the cooperation between the two jurisdictions while holding up yellow waste management stickers which he said allowed bylaw officers to enforce as they patrolled roads within the township.

“I don’t think the intention is for us to take over the whole enforcement of that. I think that’s a different subject and a different report,” Harvey added.

Mayor Dave Evans further clarified Harvey’s display, noting it was held aloft off-camera and to an empty council chamber.

“Chief Harvey… did raise a yellow sticker that you’ve seen on garbage that’s sitting in front of people’s (properties) – old chairs, washing machines,” said Evans. “I want to make sure the public is aware that it is the township that’s putting those stickers on; albeit they’re enforcing a county bylaw.”

Evans rationalized that since the township was enforcing the county bylaw, that Walma’s notice of motion for a jurisdiction transfer was unnecessary. The comment allowed Harvey an opportunity to reiterate a message to the community at large.

“Don’t put your broken chairs or your old barbecues or your other stuff at the end of the driveway,” stated Harvey. “You’ll end up in a situation where you’ll end up with a sticker and potentially move into a different situation.

“We have a great transfer station that I use often, and that’s where refuse should be left at; not at the end of your driveway for the next three weeks for everybody else to watch,” Harvey said.

A question from Deputy Mayor Sean Miskimins looked at whether enforcement officers were providing a proactive service, which Harvey confirmed.

“We travel Tiny Beaches Road and all our common roads very frequently,” Harvey replied, “and on an evening like tonight where maybe the call volume isn't required, we’re looking for these types of things and addressing those.

“But if somebody has a concern about that, they really should be filing that with the county of Simcoe and if necessary they can contact us; we’ll put the sticker on and save them the drive up here to deal with it.”

Concluding that the notice of motion was unnecessary, it failed and the meeting continued.

The North Simcoe waste drop-off and household hazardous waste depot is located at 1700 Golf Link Road in Midland, open Monday to Saturday from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

Archives of council meetings are available to view on the township’s YouTube channel.

Derek Howard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, MidlandToday.ca