March 1, 1999

To:Scarborough Community Council

From:Harold Bratten, P.Eng.

Director, Municipal Licencing and Standards

Subject:21 Saunders Road

Scarborough Bluffs

Purpose:

The purpose of the report is to document the history of the Division's involvement with the property known municipally as 21 Saunders Road and to recommend strategies for the resolution of complaints concerning the condition of the property.

Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

There will be costs associated with any subsequent clean-up of the property although such costs will ultimately be collected as taxes or in like manner as taxes.

Recommendations:

That the Municipal Licencing and Standards District Manager, East District, proceed with enforcement of Zoning By-law 10010, as amended, and By-law 24222, as amended, at premises municipally known as 21 Saunders Road.

Background/History:

The property known municipally as 21 Saunders Road is comprised of a single family dwelling on a lot with a fifty foot frontage and a depth of two hundred and ninety-two feet. The property has been the subject of investigation since June 1984. Since the first complaint, there have been numerous inspections of the property resulting in multiple notices and orders to comply issued. In addition, of the five trials initiated, four have resulted in conviction and one was adjourned sine die. All of this activity has centred around the condition of the property, most notably, the accumulation of domestic waste in the rear yard.

Over the years, the record indicates that the Division has afforded every opportunity to the owner to bring the property into compliance. Attempts at enforcement have been met with resistance by the owner through the use of all avenues of appeal and rights afforded an accused. It should be noted that all means of opposing the city's legal and property standards actions by the owner are completely legal however, such tactics have served to draw the issue out much further than is normally the case.

Since 1990, complaints have been received from the neighbours regarding the large quantity of materials accumulating in the rear yard. These materials have consisted of accumulations of lumber and other wood products, metal material and masonry products and in an attempt to lessen the impact, the neighbours immediately south of the subject property constructed a solid board fence along the mutual lot line. The most recent court action took place in August 1997 when the owner was convicted and placed on probation for a period of six months. In rendering sentence, Justice of the Peace Brown ordered that waste materials be removed from the rear and that all usable or reusable materials be stored neatly and covered, if appropriate. In response to the court's directive, the owner has covered much of the material with tarps and has constructed screen fencing panels to block the view from the abutting properties. In addition to the Division's involvement, it is understood that the owner and his neighbours immediately south of the property entered into an alternate dispute resolution process but were unsuccessful in resolving the matter.

At the present, the owner has relocated to another property in the city and the house at 21 Saunders Road is currently vacant. In the fall of 1998, accumulations of car parts, wood and metal were noted in the front yard. A notice was issued and the debris was subsequently cleaned up by work order. Around the same time, an inspection was undertaken by the Fire Department who concluded that no fire safety issues existed in the rear yard.

Enforcement action is currently pending over the issue of a vehicle, trailer and a pile of metal material stored in the front yard.

Legislation:

There are three by-laws currently available which address the ongoing issues at the property. They are the Property Standards By-law 20483 as amended; the Domestic and Industrial Waste By-law 24222, as amended, and the Scarborough Village Community Zoning By-law 10010, as amended.

By-law 20483

The Property Standards By-law defines 'refuse' to include "...garbage, rubbish, debris, ashes and discarded or reclaimable waste." Section 5.1.1 states that:-

"Exterior property areas shall be maintained in a neat and tidy condition so as not to detract from the neighbouring environment or present a hazard to any person."

Section 5.1.2 (g) goes on to state in part that:-

"...a neat and tidy condition includes the removal of accumulations of material, debris or other objects that create an unsafe or unsightly condition deleterious to the neighbouring environment."

While the above section has been used in the past to deal with accumulations at the property, the appeal process connected with the procedure has been quite time consuming. Depending upon the timing, an appeal to the Property Standards Appeal Committee of an Order to Comply issued under the by-law can take four to six weeks. A further appeal to the courts is available to the owner and this additional step can take up to six to eight months. Only after all appeals are exhausted would the city be in a position to take action to enforce the Order to Comply or commence legal action.

As noted previously, the owner has covered much of the material with tarps and has also attempted to screen the material by erecting screen fencing around the accumulations. Based upon these efforts, there may be an argument that an unsightly condition does not exist although the tarped piles could in themselves be considered unsightly.

Once all avenues of appeal are exhausted, the repairs demanded in the Order to Comply may be undertaken by the municipality with all associated costs collected as taxes. In addition, legal action may also be initiated.

By-law 24222

By-law 24222, as amended, was enacted to deal specifically with the removal, storage and disposal of domestic and industrial waste. Under the by-law, domestic waste is defined in part as:-

"...means any article, thing or matter belonging to or associated with a house or household or concerning or relating to the home or family that appears to be waste material, including but not limited to:

1. Accumulations, deposits, leavings, litter, remains, rubbish, trash, garbage, refuse and debris;..."

The by-law requires the issuance of a notice to the owner to remove any material which offends the by-law provisions. Normally, where the property is owner occupied, a compliance time frame of forty eight hours is given. Where the ownership involves an absentee owner, time granted is usually extended to five days. The process does not involve any appeal procedure. If the city undertakes the clean up, the costs are billed to the owner and collected in like manner as taxes.

By-law 10010

By-law 10010, as amended, sets out the zoning provisions for the subject property which is zoned "S" for single family residential uses. Under Clause VIII, Section 1 (a), three uses are noted as permitted in the zone. They are single family dwellings; group homes and correctional group homes. The storage and accumulation of material on the site is not listed as a permitted use.

Where a contravention with the by-law is noted, a notice is issued to the owner directing compliance. The time frame for such compliance can vary but usually ranges from two to four weeks. There is no appeal process established in connection with the enforcement of this by-law. Non compliance with a notice results in legal action.

Report:

There are currently two options open to the municipality to deal with this issue. The property can be cleaned up or legal action can be initiated. In the normal course of events, the division would issue a notice to clear the propertyof the accumulations, failing which, a city crew would undertake the work.

The subject property presents some features which make such an undertaking more difficult. The property is fenced and there is no apparent entry to the rear yard except through the garage or house. The subject and neighbouring houses are close enough to each other so as to preclude the use of machinery in any clean-up. The work would have to be undertaken by hand which would add considerably to the cost although admittedly, this cost would ultimately be borne by the owner. In order to accomplish the clean up, entry should ideally be through the neighbouring yard at 19Saunders Road and a portion of the board fence which currently separates the properties would have to be removed temporarily to accommodate access.

If legal action is taken, the Division would proceed under Zoning By-law 10010. The charge would be for using the property for a use (storage purposes) which is not permitted. Assuming a successful prosecution, a request for a Prohibition Order would be made as part of the sentencing recommendation. If such an Order were granted, continuation of the use would constitute contempt of court.

As noted previously, two by-laws exist which can be utilized for clean ups. The Property Standards By-law, while providing for full cost recovery, involves an appeal process which is not deemed suitable for prompt resolution of the problem. The Domestic and Industrial Waste By-law does not involve any appeal process and is considered a more appropriate method to effect the removal of the material, although costs are collected in like manner as taxes only. As noted previously, the property owners at 19 Saunders Road would be required to grant access to their rear yard and permission to temporarily remove a portion of their boundary fence.

Justification:

By-law 24222, as amended, prohibits the accumulation of domestic and industrial waste on properties within the municipality. By-law 10010, as amended, regulates the use of land within the municipality.

Contact Name:

Bryan Byng

District Manager - East District

(416) 396-7071

(416) 396-4266 Fax Number

byng#u#b@city.scarborough.on.ca

Harold Bratten, P.Eng.

Director, Municipal Licencing and Standards

Urban Planning and Development Services

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