Deep River’s new “clean and clear yards” bylaw is coming under fire from a local resident.
The bylaw regulates the keeping of private property, exclusive of buildings, “in a safe, tidy and visually-pleasing manner.”
Among other things, it narrowed the definition of “naturalized” gardens in order to distinguish them from neglected gardens.
The bylaw was also updated last year with the addition of a regulation preventing noxious weeds, as well as a regulation stipulating where compost bins can be placed.
It also tacked on regulations regarding discarded appliances, vehicles and equipment, and put restrictions on the placement of compost bins, which the new bylaw prohibits in front yards, side yards and exterior side yards.
But a letter on the agenda of this week’s council meeting from Lesley Barry questions why, when the bylaw was passed in June of last year, the town failed to repeal the bylaw it replaced, which originally came into effect 10 years ago.
She also questions the new bylaw’s logic of restricting the placement of compost bins exclusively to back yards.
“Neither of the two staff reports (from last year) mention considering the potential effect of the new restriction on residents with disabilities.
“Depending on the location of entrances and stairs, the back yard may not be as safe or easy to access as the side yard, especially during the snow and ice of the winter months,” Barry states in her letter.
“Are compost bins, among all the items that can accrue next to a dwelling such as condenser units, residential propane tanks and standby generators, really that much of an eyesore?” she questions…
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