The Town of Calmar

TOWN OF CALMARBYLAW No. 2002- 08THE PREVENTION OF AND ELIMINATION OF NUISANCESGENERALLY, AND REGULATING UNTIDY AND UNSIGHTLYPREMISES.BEING a bylaw of the Town of Calmar in the Province of Alberta for theprevention of and elimination of nuisances generally, and regulating untidy andunsightly premises.WHEREAS, the Municipal Government Act, (‘the Act’), Division 1, provides thatthe municipality authorizes a Council to pass bylaws to provide for the preventionand elimination of noise, nuisances and pests.AND WHEREAS, it is deemed expedient by the Council of the Town of Calmar topass a bylaw to provide for the preventing and compelling the abatement ofnoise, nuisances and pests within the Town of Calmar.NOW THEREFORE, the Municipal Council of the Town of Calmar dulyassembled enacts as follows:Section:1. This bylaw may be cited as “The Nuisance Abatement” Bylaw.2. In this bylaw:a. “Boulevard” means that portion of the street which lies betweenthe roadway and the front property line of the land abutting saidstreet.b. “Town” means the Town of Calmarc. “Electronic Device” means any device or mechanism which isoperated by the application of electric current, and withoutrestricting the generality of the foregoing, includes any radioreceiver, radio transmitter, record or tape player or device whichproduces recorded sound, television set, amplifier and loud speakersystem, public address system, alarm, siren.d. “Enforcement Officer” means a Bylaw Enforcement Officer, or aPeace Officer, or any person authorized by Council to enforce theprovisions of this bylaw.e. “Lessee” means any person, including his agent or any member ofhis family, who rents, or occupies property owned by anotherperson or persons.f. “Noise” means any sound which is, or is considered to be, sharpor piercing; or shrill, or explosive; or unnecessarily loud; orpersistent and/or annoying, but shall not include a sound intendedto warn persons of danger or of emergency.g. “Nuisance” means any act or deed, or omission, or thing, which is,or could be reasonably be expected to be annoying, ortroublesome, or destructive, or harmful, or inconvenient, or injuriousto another person and/or his property.h. “Occupant” means any person occupying any property, whetherhe is the owner or lessee of such property or whether such personresides thereon or conducts a business thereon.i. “Owner” means a person having title to, or legal possession of anyproperty, or who possesses property under a purchase agreement.j. “Pest” means any animal, bird, reptile or insect which causes orcould reasonable be expected to cause annoyance or damage orinjury to any person, or animal or plant.k. ”Property” means anything owned by any person, whether inwhole or in part, and also includes real property.l. “Real Property” means any land and/or buildings whetheroccupied or not.

- 2 -m. “Untidy” or “Unsightly” means any property or part of it on whichis litter or rubbish which causes the property or any part of it to lookuntidy or unsightly.n. “Rubbish” means and includes any paper product, or fabric, orwood, or plastic, or glass, or metal and/or any matter or substanceof any kind which has been discarded, or abandoned, or in any waydisposed of.o. “Street” means any road or lane or alley and includes all land up tothe property line on each side of such road, lane or alley.p. “Weeds” means any plant that is designated in the Weed ControlAct of Alberta as “restricted”, “noxious” or “nuisance” and shall alsoinclude any fungus which may be destructive or injurious togardens or lawns or trees or shrubs.3. Regulations(1) Every occupant or owner of any real property within the Town ofCalmar or if such property is unoccupied, the owner thereof shall:a. not permit the land or premises of which such person is the owner,agent or occupier to be or to remain a nuisance.b. not permit the land or premises of which such person is the owner,agent or occupier to be untidy or unsightly.c. keep the land free from debris, including any vehicle, tractors, orobjects which is in a wrecked, discarded, dilapidated or abandonedcondition.d. when requested to do so by an Enforcement Officer, clean up anuntidy and/or unsightly property or build a fence or screen to keepsuch property from being viewed from any street or other publicplace.e. eradicate or control any weeds growing on such property to preventpropagation and the spreading from such plants or weeds of anyseeds, or roots, or rhizomes, or spores, to the property of otherpersons.f. prune or remove any tree on such property, which interferes withany public utility or public works.g. remove or prune any shrub or tree owned by him which is, or couldbe, a nuisance to any person using any publicly owned ormaintained sidewalk or street.h. prevent stagnant water from remaining on such property andbecoming a breeding place for mosquitoes or other pests.i. cut or mow the grass on any boulevard or street, situated on Townof Calmar owned land adjoining, or abutting adjacent to propertyowned or occupied by him, to prevent such grass from growing tosuch a height as to be untidy or unsightly, having regard to theheight of the grass on adjacent or surrounding property.j. remove from such property any dead grass or brush or rubbishwhich may be untidy or unsightly, or may harbor vermin or peststhereon.k. cut the grass on such property before said grass reaches such aheight as to be untidy or unsightly, having regard to the height ofthe grass on adjacent or surrounding property.(2) Every Enforcement Officer may declare that any property within theTown of Calmar, in contravention of this bylaw, is a nuisance and/oris dangerous to public safety or health. The Enforcement Officer ishereby authorized to enter any lands or buildings or premises, otherthan a dwelling house, to inspect for conditions that may constitutea nuisance or danger and direct that it be removed, pulled down,

- 3 –abated or otherwise dealt with by the owner for the prevention orabatement of a nuisance, or for the remedying or an untidy orunsightly condition of any premises.(3) a. In the event that a person fails or neglects or refuses to remedy anycondition which is deemed to be in contravention of this bylaw, afterhaving been ordered to remedy such condition, Council may causesuch work to be done as is considered necessary to remedy suchcondition and charge the cost of such work to the owner oroccupant, and in default of payment:i. recover the cost as a debt due to the municipality, orii.charge the cost against the land concerned as taxes due andowing in respect of that land and recover the cost as such.b. Any person authorized in writing by Council to carry on any workunder this bylaw shall have the right to enter any property otherthan a dwelling house to carry on such work.(4) No person shall put, or leave, or cause to be placed within theTown of Calmar any decomposing animal or plant matter, or anyother substance which may attract flies or other pests, except inproper containers so as not to constitute a nuisance.(5) a. No person shall, within the Town of Calmar:i. cause any noise which may be a nuisance, orii. except as authorized by the Solicitor General of the Province ofAlberta, discharge any firearm unless permission in writing isfirst obtained from the Chief of Police, or any person authorizedby him oriii. between the hours of 11 o’clock in the evening of one day and 7o’clock in the forenoon of the next day, operate any engine ormotor powered machine used for gardening or landscaping oron lawns, or operate any heavy equipment or machinery;iv.excepting emergency situations and municipal operations.operate any electronic device in such a manner as to be anuisance.b. No occupant of any property within the Town of Calmar shall make,or cause to be made, or allow another person within or upon suchproperty to make, or cause to be made, any noise which may be anuisance, and upon complaint by any person of such noise, anEnforcement Officer may in addition to issuing any warning, orvoluntary penalty ticket, or laying any information with respect to analleged breach of this bylaw, order the occupant and any otherperson found therein to forthwith cease causing such noise andrefrain from continuing said noise.c. Notwithstanding any other provision for penalties in this bylaw, anyperson who:i. contravenes the provisions of subsection “b” of section 5 hereinis guilty of an offense and liable on summary conviction to a fineof not less than fifty ($50.00) or not more than two hundreddollars ($200.00) and in default of payment to be imprisoned fora term not exceeding thirty (30) days and/or,ii. disobeys an order made under this section is guilty of anoffense and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not lessthan one hundred dollars ($100.00) or more than five hundred($500.00) and in default of payment to be imprisoned for a termnot exceeding six (6) months.

- 4 –d. In any proceedings under this section, the following persons shallbe deemed to be the occupants of any property upon which it hasbeen alleged that an offense has been committed:(1) any person who:i. resides therein, orii. claims to reside therein, oriii. is a lessee with respect to such property, oriv. has title to such property, orv. possesses said property under a purchase agreement(2) provided, however, that such person was present at the time ofalleged offense, or permitted other persons to use said property.(6) a. Not withstanding any other provisions in the bylaw, the TownManager, and the Chief of Police or anyone appointed to act inher stead may, at their discretion, issue a permit to any personor organization to operate an electronic device within the Townof Calmar.b. Such permit shall specify:i. the name of the person or organization being granted thepermit, andii. the type of electronic device being permitted, andiii. the period of time for which the permit is valid, andiv. rhe area or location where such device may be operated,andv. any other conditions pertinent to the use of such device,having regard to the public order and peace.c. Any person who operates an electronic device and fails, orneglects, or refuses to comply with the provisions of the permitgranted therein is guilty of an offense.d. Any Enforcement Officer may cancel or revoke a permit issuedunder this section if he has reasonable and probable grounds tobelieve and does believe that an offense under this bylaw hasbeen, or is about to be committed.(7) No person shall throw, or deposit, or in any way cause to bedeposited, any rubbish on any street, or sidewalk, or boulevard,or park, or waterway or on any property not his own, within theTown of Calmar except:a. in suitable containers kept or provided for such a purpose andwould not constitute a nuisance, or4. Penaltya. Every person who violates any provision of this bylaw for whichno other provision for penalty has been made is guilty of anoffense and liable on summary conviction.i. for the first offense to a fine of not less than twenty fivedollars ($25.00), or more than two hundred dollars($200.00), and costs, and in default of payment to beimprisoned for a term not exceeding thirty (30) days, orii. for a second or subsequent offense to a fine of not less thanfifty dollars ($50.00), or more than five hundred dollars($500.00), and costs, and in default of payment to beimprisoned for a term not exceeding sixty (60) days.

- 5 -b. Notwithstanding any other provisions for penalties in this bylaw,an Enforcement Officer may, in lieu of laying an information inrespect to the alleged breach, issue a voluntary penalty ticketand the accused may within seven (7) days of the issuance ofsuch ticket pay the Town of Calmar the same monetary penaltyas the minimum fine that may be imposed under the provisionsof this bylaw.i.By paying such monetary penalty as prescribed in thissection, an accused shall be deemed to be guilty of theoffense for which such penalty was paid.ii. In the event that the prescribed voluntary penalty is notpaid within the time allotted herein, an EnforcementOfficer may thereafter lay any information in respect tothe offense for which the voluntary penalty ticket wasissued.This Bylaw takes effect upon third and final reading and passing thereof.READ a first time this ___ day of ______________ 200 __ A.D.READ a second time this ___ day of ________________ 200 __ A.D.READ a third time and passed this ___ day of _________________ 200 __ A.D.__________________________Mayor______________________Town ManagerNote: This Bylaw could possibly replace Dangerous Weapons, Unsightly Premises & Noise Bylaws.