Unsightly utility pole has right to be on front yard
Believe it or not, the front yard of just about every home in Toronto is somewhat smaller than even the owner might think.
That’s why Toronto Hydro and other utilities are able to put up a pole or other equipment on what many people believe to be their property, and without asking for permission.
A woman called the Star last week to say that while she was at work, a new utility pole suddenly appeared in the tiny front yard of her home on Sproat Ave., near Dundas St. E. and Jones Ave.
The woman was understandably upset that the garden bordering her front yard — not much bigger than a barroom pool table — had been invaded by a pole, and with no advance warning.
She no doubt asked the questions that occur to others when a pole or telecom equipment box is put up on what they think is their property: how do the utilities get away with it and how soon can I get rid of it?
We were pretty sure we knew the answer: the pole is within the municipal “road allowance,” a strip of land between the sidewalk and the homeowner’s actual property line, which in fact is owned by the city. So it’s not going anywhere. The road allowance extends from one sidewalk and across the street to the other sidewalk. Most people think it ends at the edge of the sidewalk. In fact, it could extend upward of two metres into a front yard, depending on where the property is. Kam Ma, an acting manager of right-of-way management with the city, explained that the road allowance extends beyond the sidewalk and into the front yard of just about every residential property.
On an inner-city street such as Sproat Ave., the strip inside the sidewalk owned by the city may be much narrower than on a larger suburban lawn, Ma said. But except for a few rare instances, the city owns a strip inside the sidewalk, he said. Status: Toronto Hydro spokesperson Tori Gass emailed to say “many homeowners don’t understand the property lines of their homes and aren’t aware of the road allowance.” Hydro’s policy is to notify residents ahead of the installation of poles or equipment “through several letters that are mailed to their addresses. There’s a contact number on the letters that connects customers to our capital projects line, where they can receive more information. Unfortunately, in this instance a step in our communications process was missed. This customer should have received a specific letter that outlined the placement of the pole, which is our usual process. As soon as we heard from the customer on Thursday, we started to work with them and had a face-to-face meeting on Friday. We’re looking into why that happened so we can prevent it from happening to another customer.” What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. Send an email to jlakey@thestar.ca. Report problems and follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer.