New waste bins force Brampton to trash storage bylaw

bramptonguardian.com
May 19, 2016
By Peter Criscione

The City of Brampton has trashed parts of its property standards bylaw to accommodate Peel Region’s new cart based garbage program.

At Corporate Services Committee Wednesday (May 18), members signed off on amendments to the bylaw covering where residents are permitted to store waste carts.

Currently, citizens aren’t permitted to store waste receptacles at the front of their house, in plain view.

But the introduction of Peel’s new waste cart system has made compliance difficult for numerous homeowners across the city, prompting a change.

Councillors heard Wednesday that in one month alone, the city handled 29 calls from residents complaining about their neighbours storing carts out front.

As such, the new bylaw specifically addresses homes with single car garages, no car port, limited side yard setback or no access to the rear yard, other than through the inside of the dwelling.

Mississauga last month adopted a similar bylaw change that prohibits storage of collection carts on front yards, unless municipal enforcement officers determine other options aren’t practical.

Councillors agreed to amend the current bylaw allowing waste receptacles to be stored in a yard-facing street “in an orderly manner” provided that:

• the property does not have a side yard with a width of one metre or more;
• property does not have a rear yard access that is wider than the waste bin; and
• the home does not have an accessory building, carport or garage.

The bylaw also mentions that a bylaw enforcement officer has final say, while on a call, to determine whether there is a reasonable alternative storage location to a front yard.

Brampton resident George Startup during the meeting complained that the city doesn’t go far enough to enforce the rules.

He said while working on amending the bylaw, staff should have also established guidelines that enforcement officials can follow.

“The bylaw itself doesn't tell them (officers) how or what to do,” said Startup.