Still no full agreement by council

The town of Yarmouth has approved second reading of a bylaw that does not allow front yard waste storage units – but it was not a unanimous vote.

Councillor Wade Cleveland, one of two councilors to vote against the motion to approve second reading, said he would still like to see some allowance made for people who properly, and attractively, have these types of storage units.

“I continue to be not very happy with the way this has been done,” he said. “I still believe there should be a way that people who do it properly should be able to.”

There has been a fair amount of discussion on this issue. The town conducted a survey its www.getinvolvedyarmouth.ca website, there was a public hearing and the matter has come up on the council agenda several times.

Currently, people are permitted to have storage units in their back yards and side yards. Council explored the possibility of whether to allow them in front yards because there are some being used, although they are in violation of the bylaw.

Rather than acting on enforcement right away, council decided to look into whether the units should be allowed for everyone through a bylaw change.

There have been a lot of sympathetic sentiments expressed around the table by all of council for those who have tidy and attractive front yard storage units. But those on council opposed to allowing these units for the storing of garbage and recyclables, and possibly green carts too, worry that not everyone would adhere to what would be considered acceptable standards. Residential streets could end up lined with front yard garbage storage units, including ones that are ugly and rundown looking. There is also concern over the smell alongside sidewalks if people frequently stored garbage and green bins in these units in between collection days.

Councillor Clifford Hood did support the bylaw to not allow the storage units in front yards due to concerns that have been raised and some examples of units he’s seen.

But he also doesn’t necessarily see this as a done deal. Hood still thinks there could be some sort of a permit system that could set standards for these units to be used in a responsible and proper manner.

He suggested to Councillor Cleveland, who would like the see the units allowed, that he come up with some permitting ideas to bring back to table.