New Home Bylaws To Keep The Yard Tidy

Barrie Introduces, Clarifies Bylaws in Response to Resident Concern

Some new guidelines for Barrie residents to mull over. At Monday night’s meeting, Barrie council voted to adopt new Property Standards bylaws, to not only address resident concerns and make the bylaws easier to understand, but also to speed up the process. The new bylaws would keep homes with pools from becoming insect breeding grounds, the use of external extension cords as permanent fixes, and keep the porch lights from shining into the neighbour’s window. It would also contain new language dictating how residents shouldn’t allow too much dangerous snow to build up on the roof or dead trees in the yard, or leave piles of sod or dirt on the driveway for more than a week. The bylaw also removes timelines from offenses, putting the deadline instead on bylaw officer’s discretion, which is said to speed up compliance.