It was a predictable decision at our public hearing: applicant wanted a
duplex amongst single family homes yet every neighbour in the cul-de-sac was
opposed. Motion to reject was carried
and all went home. Yet it seemed the
applicant wasn’t quite done. He made a
list of every bylaw infraction he thought each neighbour was guilty of and
brought the list to staff to enforce.
Management was uncomfortable with this ‘revenge’ list and sought my
input as Mayor.
I suggested neighbours be made aware of minor routine items (weeds, long
grass, etc.) and asked to help us by complying.
I don’t recall any significant items except for one – a young girl had a
lamb as a pet. The bylaws didn’t permit
farm animals in residential zones so we had a problem – yet I didn’t want to
take this young girl’s lamb away to satisfy the neighbour’s grudge. So, our solicitor said: ‘you know if you
choose to review this bylaw, we won’t act on the complaint until your review is
complete.’
And so, my review commenced.
The applicant, now the complainant, checked on his list with staff from
time to time and eventually got so frustrated that he phoned me to ask how long
my review would take. I think I asked
how long do lambs live, but I do certainly recall his anger and the loss of his
future votes. I don’t know how long the
little girl and her lamb lived in Saanich but my review lasted every year that
I was Mayor.
I believe this is setting the ‘tone at the top’ as opposed to
meddling in management – some may disagree.
Yet I ‘intervened’ when children sold lemonade in Mount Tolmie
Park, teens set up their portable basketball hoop on the boulevard of a dead-end
street, and when a husband and wife in the Gorge area brought lists of
infractions into the office every month.
If there were more than one independent complainant, then action would
be taken.
In some of the cases I’ve mentioned there weren’t any complainants but
some passing notice by a municipal employee or long-distance walker – my tone
was sometimes you’ve got to ‘live and let live.’
I took the same approach when an individual citizen demanded we bring in
a new bylaw – I’d suggest it be acknowledged and bundled with an annual
review. New bylaws are essentially
another restriction on everyone’s life and property – and I was always
reluctant to add on to the many laws we already have. Good and valid ideas would be ‘good and
valid’ six months later, but the need for others would simply fade
away.
I think because Canadians generally obey laws doesn’t mean we should
keep adding to the list.
I call this ‘injecting common sense into bylaw enforcement’ yet I
see local councils still getting themselves tied up in knots because they feel
they must enforce every instance concerning every person at every
opportunity. ‘Zero tolerance’
their tone but it was never mine – it made more sense to apply common sense.
Frank Leonard … served roles as a Councillor and Mayor of
Saanich -- and Chair of the Police Board from 1986 to 2014. He chaired the
Municipal Finance Authority of BC, was President of the UBCM, and while in
business, served as a Director of the BC Chamber of Commerce, and President of
the Victoria Chamber of Commerce.
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