Higher fines for breaking the city’s waterworks bylaw could come into effect next month.
City council passed a report at Monday night’s meeting, outlining the many amendments that would be made to the bylaw should it pass first, second, third and final reading in September.
The flat fine of $50 for watering outside of designated areas would be eliminated, the report read. Replacing it would be fines based on each of the four stages of water restrictions. For example, watering outside designated times during Stage 1 carries a $150 penalty, while Stage 2 and Stage 3 have $250 and $350 fines, respectively. Should Burnaby reach Stage 4, prohibited watering could mean a $500 ticket.
The bylaw needed to be amended, according to Leon Gous, Burnaby’s director of engineering, because it hadn’t been done since 2003.
“If we do see a bit more of these, we want to make sure we have a really escalating disincentive to break the restriction,” he told the NOW. “We haven’t gone as extreme as Richmond, but we’re certainly not the lowest.”
Gous added there isn’t much distinction between first and second offence in the bylaw amendments because the fines should be seen as a last resort.
“We believe there has to be a good balance between good education and communication,” he said.
Asked if Burnaby residents have complied with this summer’s watering restrictions, Gous said, “Yes.”
“You still get the odd neighbour complaint, but it’s really not exceptional anymore, and I think if you drive around Burnaby, you’ll notice a lot of brown lawns,” he said.
The city’s solid waste and recycling bylaw could also get amended next month to include higher fines.
Failure to place food scraps and yard waste into the green bins without contamination could cost residents $250. Anyone not using the bins properly could be slapped with a $400 fine.
Gous said because the city gets fined down the road by Metro Vancouver if it doesn’t comply by the solid waste rules, these amendments were necessary as a “recovery mechanism.”
