There is nothing wrong with the Super By-Law; in fact it’s a great idea. Consolidate some smaller bylaws into a big by-law; it’s a fantastic idea. Also hiring people to enforce the by-laws are great too. I have no problems with the concept.What I do have a problem with is the fanfare about this by-law enforcement team, and the Neighborhood Livability by-law. Now if anyone had the patience to read the EPC report about the by-law, they would have found they are consolidating some 17 by-laws, but also changing some of them. This should have been a major part of the story that I should have focused upon, but I didn’t catch it right away.
"A slight change has been made to building address provisions to address the reality that big-box retail complexes cannot realistically post street addresses on their buildings that are large enough to be seen from the street. In these situations, the new provision requires street addresses to be posted both on the building and on signs that are visible from the street."
Now, why are we changing our laws to better serve big-box stores?
I thought we were trying to bring small business back to downtown Winnipeg. Changing this law, however minor, plays against this whole downtown re-vitalization. In fact, this helps promote suburban sprawl, and that kills downtown. This also spits in the faces of all those small business that have been playing by the rules, and goes to show you that if you have money, some laws can be avoided. Now I have asked the city of Winnipeg if any big box stores have been fined the hefty $5000.00 fine for not complying with the existing law. I have not received a response yet, but when I do you will know.
"Previously, the Winnipeg Heating By-law required that workspaces in commercial and industrial buildings must be maintained at 68.0 F until 11:00 p.m. but only to 60.0 F during the night. It did not address the situation where a workspace is occupied all night long. The new By-law requires heating to 68.0 F whenever employees are required to be in the workspace but permits a lower temperature when workers are not in the space"
This change caught me as odd. Not only do I think this would fall under some Human Resource Canada thing or Provincial Employment Standards thing, but I find it odd that they don’t state the temperature in Celsius. I know this is nit-picking but I did find it interesting.
"The definition of fence has been amended to require that a fence must be embedded. This will prevent property owners and occupants from seeking to evade the property standards by claiming that their junk is really a "fence"."
I think at least 3 of the by-laws before consolidation dealt with the standard of fences. Three. Let’s hope this time they finally got it right. It would have been funny to see when this was first pulled on some inspector: "Ohhh noo. That pile of Lucky cans is a fencepost."
Now as for the bylaw enforcement team itself, it’s great that we are getting one, spot on. But again when you start looking, and I mean really looking into the details, that’s when you notice something is off. Like the $375,000 one-time payment that every time the EPC report brings up this sum of money, it states right behind it that it is a one-time payment. (Winnipeg Free Press, I’m looking at you when I say this).
And then there’s this statement:
"Community By-law Enforcement Services Unit will be implemented in two phases. In the first Phase, the Community By-law Enforcement Services Unit will become operational by November 1, 2008 and will enforce the new Neighbourhood Liveability By-law, subject to Council approval, in addition to thirteen other existing by-laws (see Appendix 2).
A 10-month implementation phase is required to harmonize the staff, review issues relating to human resources, develop work flow methods, develop new forms, develop policy on enforcement methods, train staff, determine, modify and acquire technology / communication systems.
Phase 2 will be implemented by March 31, 2009 and involves the integration of resources, development of by-law support programs, cross-training of staff, and development of performance reporting measurements."
So not only do we have the enforcement team not coming together until November of this year, but they aren’t going to be doing anything until March 31 of 2009. April Fools, Winnipeg !
So as the political gears slowly crank out a new bureaucracy, your asshole neighbor can continue to use his old burned out flat bed truck that his son stole and lit on fire in a botched insurance scam as his own personal dump. Not only that but he can continue let his grass grow as much as he wants letting it turn into the perfect breeding ground for ticks, and mosquitoes.
My suggestion to you is grab a Half Pints and go inside and watch as many CFL games as you can this summer, because you won’t be able to enjoy your back yard living next to that mess, and still not having anyone who will do anything about it. Just think of all your tax dollars that are going into this, and the lack of service you get for a one-time payment of $375,000.
Just go to the "Consolidation of Existing Neighbourhood Liveability By-laws" and the "Consolidation of Responsibility for By-law Enforcement" sections.
