Guelph/Eramosa to charge repeat bylaw offenders

The Township of Guelph/Eramosa Municipal Office building seen on May 21, 2019. (Max Wark / CTV Kitchener)

Guelph/Eramosa Township has voted in favour of charging bylaw re-offenders for non-compliance.

According to local bylaw enforcement, 60 per cent of staff time is used doing field inspections, including follow up on complaints from neighbours. Staff say inspections and re-inspections are increasing due to non-compliance of orders and notices of violation.

In efforts to curb that, staff recommended re-inspection fees of $100 for a re-inspection visit and $150 each subsequent inspection visit.

Mayor Chris White told CTV News in a phone interview, the measure is not meant to be punitive and will be discretionary.

“We work with you. We’ll give people extensions,” White said. “But if he has to go back and inspect a place five times, well that’s a little unfair to the taxpayer. So you’re trying to do cost recovery on chronic issues.”

White called Guelph/Eramosa a small community with only one bylaw officer but admitted there’s been some urban growth recently. He believes non-compliance re-inspection fees will help “move things along”.

“What you really want is resolution. You don’t want to tie the courts up. You don’t want to have to bother people all the time,” White said. “If you’ve gone back to a site five times – it gets a little pricey.”

Council approved the recommendation at a Dec. 19 meeting. It will take effect Jan. 1, 2023.