‘Too much power’ for bylaw officers, resident says
When Joan Krygsman received a notice from the city’s bylaw department to remove a stack of cardboard boxes from her Dundas front porch last October, she did what she thought any reasonable citizen would do: took them to the dump to avoid a fine.
A week later, though, came a noncompliance ticket in the amount of $95.
“I asked the city how this is possible and what I’m being charged with, because I complied and got rid of the boxes within a half-hour of the notice.”
The next day, Krygsman got a call from bylaw. She said she was told that, while visiting her MacNab Street home to ensure the order was complied with, a bylaw officer noticed a pile of scrap wood — accumulated from recent renovations and intended to be used as kindling — in her backyard.
According to a city spokesperson, Michelle Shantz, the initial bylaw warning notice at Krygsman’s property “specifically stated” all cardboard, wood and books had to be removed from her front and backyards.
But Krygsman is adamant neither the warning notice nor the noncompliance order made any mention of a yard infraction other than the cardboard boxes. She was unable to provide a copy of the notice to the Hamilton Spectator.
“I had no idea it was even legal for bylaw to look through someone’s backyard,” she said.
Ultimately, a back-and-forth ensued and bylaw reversed the order as a one-time courtesy.
Krygsman, relieved and with her wood dump-bound, considered the ordeal kaput.
That is, until more than a month later, when the city mailed her a $342 “fee-for-inspection” notice connected to the noncompliance order days before Christmas.
“An inspection of my backyard I knew nothing about,” Krygsman said. “It didn’t make any sense. The order was reversed. The boxes and wood were gone. Why am I being charged?”
Another back and forth ensued. Eventually, bylaw again reversed the fee for inspection. But Krygsman was left thinking: Can bylaw peek into your not-so-visible backyard without a neighbour complaint, and can officers charge you for a visit to your home?
The short answer to the former is yes.
According to the Municipal Act, bylaw officers have the authority to enter your land at any reasonable time without a warrant — insofar as the purpose is to investigate alleged infractions, seize evidence or determine compliance with orders. In plain terms: They can legally hop your fence and look through your windows.
“Municipal law enforcement officers have right of entry,” Shantz said in an email. “While many investigations are complaint-based, officers can also conduct proactive investigations.” She also noted that officers are not required to meet any sort of ticket quota.
As for whether homeowners can be charged for inspections, the answer remains unclear.
Shantz said the fee-for-inspection notice Krygsman received was reversed “as a one-time courtesy to the property owner.” The noncompliance fine, meanwhile, was cancelled “following a review of the screening officer.”
“This does not negate any noncompliance of a bylaw,” Shantz added.
Which raises another question for Krygsman: If the order cancellation doesn’t negate any noncompliance of a bylaw, as the city suggested, why weren’t the charges upheld?
She hasn’t been able to figure that out. But the experience has made her wonder whether bylaw “fishes around” for infractions rather than adhere to the progressive enforcement policy — of emphasizing warnings and education before issuing fines — the department says it champions.
“There’s no need to go into my backyard, no neighbour can see it. It’s just above and beyond,” said Krygsman, who’s since purchased a lock for her back gate.
“But they can, I now know. It’s their right and legal. They can look in your windows, they can climb your fences, they can do anything they want.
“It’s too much power,” she added. Coun. Arlene VanderBeek, who contacted bylaw about Krygsman’s case but said she didn’t have a hand in the reversal of the charges, agrees.
“I would have felt the same way if I were in her position,” VanderBeek said in an interview, adding she’s heard similar complaints from Ward 13 residents.
“I think you’d be hard-pressed to find any resident who wouldn’t feel it was intrusive if someone opened your back gate and took pictures of your yard.”
VanderBeek said Krygsman’s experience with bylaw is one of many examples that support the need for a broader discussion about municipal enforcement laws.
Krygsman has lived at her home on MacNab for 20 years. This was her first experience of any kind with municipal enforcement officers.
She said she didn’t have a problem with removing the wood — but rather with bylaw’s “almost secretive” approach to laying infractions.
“It’s extremely stressful because you feel so powerless. Being taken to task for something that I didn’t even realize was wrong, I felt like a little kid getting my wrist slapped.”