The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District has updated its aging bylaw enforcement policy.
During a board meeting on Nov. 23, 2021, the ACRD board of directors voted to rescind the regional district’s old bylaw enforcement policy and adopt a new one.
Mike Irg, the ACRD’s general manager of planning and development, explained that the new policy establishes clear and consistent roles, procedures and standards for bylaw enforcement within the regional district. Some of the guidelines previously in place, said Irg, dated back to 1999.
“So this provides much clearer direction to everybody involved,” he said.
With the new policy, all bylaw violations will be classified as either Class 1 or Class 2 violations. A Class 1 violation is an imminent hazard or danger, while Class 2 violations do not pose an immediate hazard to people or property.
“That helps to prioritize the complaints we get,” said Irg. “We get a lot of complaints and it’s often hard to juggle them.”
Even with the new policy, bylaw enforcement in the regional district will still be complaint-based. Bylaw enforcement staff will not be out looking for active violations.
“We don’t have the resources to do that and it certainly has never been the board’s direction,” said Irg.
The regional district’s priority is voluntary compliance, rather than tickets or fines.
The ACRD’s bylaw enforcement webpage will soon be updated to reflect the new policy. Visit www.acrd.bc.ca/bylawenforcement for more information.
elena.rardon@albernivalleynews.com
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