Outdoor Wood Burning Bylaw Carries
It has been a source of angst in Orangeville for the past year with many discussions both in favour of and against and after Monday’s council meeting, the discussions have ended with the creation of a new bylaw. The bylaw includes the following provisions (which were voted on at the September 26th meeting):
Section 6.9 – No person who conducts open air burning shall create an adverse effect.
Section 3.11 – “Sensitive Receptor” shall include a healthcare facility, senior citizens’ residence, long-term care facility, or other place where smoke may be a greater risk to the health of a group or individual, or to the environment.
Section 6.2 – Open air burning is prohibited on a property that contains a multiple dwelling unit or townhouse.
Section 7.1 – Open air burning of waste from residential, commercial, construction, agricultural or industrial establishment is prohibited.
Section 8.7 – No person shall set a fire or permit a fire to burn:
d) other than between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. at which time fire must be fully extinguished prior to the applicant/the owner leaving the burn site; unless otherwise expressly permitted by the Chief Fire Official.
Section 8 – Requirements and Conditions for Permit, Application and Fee 8.3 c) the fire is set back at least:
i 75.0 metres (250 feet) from the property line for a standing sensitive receptor listed in Schedule B.
ii 45.0 metres (150 feet) from the property line for a group or individual who has voluntarily registered as a sensitive receptor,.
iii 3.0metres(9feet,10inches)from any building, structure, property line, tree, hedge, fence, roadway, overhead wire, other combustible article or obstruction
Annual Fee $30
Education – Fire Department to create an education program as part of obtaining a Burn Permit
At the Sept 26th meeting, Councillor Wilson had tabled an additional motion which was carried to restrict residents to one fire per month and force them to obtain a permit 4 days prior to their fire…This item was carried in the initial proposed bylaw, but was removed before the final bylaw was voted on. So there will be no limit to the number of fires you can have.
So Orangeville, there it is – the new official bylaw for outdoor wood burning in Orangeville. How do you feel about it? Do you think enforcement will be an issue? How will this change affect you?
It’s BUDGET TIME!!!!
It’s the most “wonderful” time of the year….budget time. The Treasurer, Mr. Villeneuve, presented the first draft of the proposed 2017 budget. The presentation was a very high level presentation with the initial proposal showing an increase of 3.5% – Don’t panic yet!!! Council will be going into great detail about some of the projects outlined and looking in depth at the budget at the next two budget meetings which are scheduled for Monday, October 24th (Operation Budget Presentation) and Tuesday, October 25th (Capital Budget Presentation) both starting at 7pm inside Council Chambers.
This morning on social media, there is a post from Mayor Williams stating “Budget News: Zero Increase, Again” – so I actually had to rewatch the portion of the meeting where Councillor Garisto asks the Treasurer for some clarification and he confirmed that the increase is currently at 4.5%…1% is covered by growth and the other 3.5% is the cost impact to the taxpayer. At that time, Councillor Garisto asked what they would need to lower by 1% and the answer was in the neighbourhood of $320,000. After re-watching, I wanted to again ensure I was correct in what I was hearing vs what is being said on social media, so I reached out to Mr. Villeneuve who confirmed that “the rates are not anticipated to increase, however the cost impact to the taxpayer is currently at 3.5%”.
So I’m not exactly sure where the notion of zero percent comes in…perhaps Mr. Mayor you could enlighten us? I’m not in any way saying that I was ever expecting an actual zero percent, but let’s try some honesty in the reporting of facts instead of the constant game of numbers. Let residents know what is ACTUALLY happening instead of what they want to hear.
Now is the time to have your say – Send any questions or comments to budgetquestions@orangeville.ca and visit www.orangeville.ca/treasury to view all budget related documents. To take a peek at at the presentation from the Treasurer, Click HERE.
I am looking forward to your comments and I am really looking forward to seeing some new faces in the gallery inside Council Chambers on Monday at 7pm!