It would be interesting IF anyone were to be charged under this bylaw, as with most bylaws they are often unconstitutional, but no one fights them due to the costs associated with doing so. Municipalities often pass bylaws which are in direct conflict with provincial or federal laws.
A biker clubhouse located at Park and Perry streets has fallen under the scrutiny of city bylaw officials. Jul 26, 2012
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer....-violated-city-bylaw-against-fortifying-homes
City police and members of the OPP’s Biker Enforcement Unit were at the house Sunday night after a member of the Loners motorcycle club was assaulted near the rail tracks on Park St. early that morning.
Police said the search was related to the assault. So far, no one has been arrested.
Officers on scene ripped down several security cameras mounted outside the house.
City police Staff Sgt. Larry Charmley said the cameras may be violating a bylaw designed to prevent people from fortifying their homes.
Residents are allowed to have video cameras on their property. It’s a common feature, and selling point, of many home security systems.
Homeowners aren’t breaking any laws by having those cameras, Charmley said, if they’re pointed inside or at the perimeter of the property.
Problems and infractions arise when cameras are pointed out at the street, he said, beyond the property’s perimeter.
It’s also a problem for police, he said, because anyone watching the monitor could be preparing to ambush any officers trying to get in.
Then there’s the white, wooden fence surrounding the property.
Its height may pose a problem for motorists heading east on Perry St., or north on Park St., he said, if the fence’s height impedes visibility.
Police also had to grapple with a thick chain keeping a chain link fence shut.
The chain alone isn’t illegal, he said. But the bylaw also prohibits anything that could slow down emergency services from getting onto the property, or slow down anyone trying to leave.
That part of the bylaw doesn’t exist for police alone.
City solicitor Patricia Lester pointed out that if someone was having a heart attack on a fortified property it becomes a problem for the paramedics or firefighters trying to reach that person.
Lester said the city has heard the police concerns regarding the house at Park and Perry streets, and are taking a look at the evidence.
The homeowner is working with the property standards department on the fence issue, she said.
Overwhelmingly the city prefers to deal with infractions by issuing compliance orders to property owners, Lester said, giving the owner a chance to fix the problem.
“Typically, with any municipal bylaw, we seek enforcement through compliance,” Lester said.
If a person doesn’t comply the city does have the option of going onto the property and doing the needed work, Lester said.
The bylaw does not give the city permission to enter a dwelling.
Each infraction is handled on a case-by-case basis, Lester said, and depends on a number of variables like the infraction in question, and the willingness of the property owner to work with the city.
“All we want is compliance,” she said.
Police haven’t charged anyone in relation to Sunday morning’s assault.
Charmley acknowledged that getting people to talk has been difficult, but not unexpected.
“They’d rather just deal with it among themselves,” he said.
NOTE: The same bylaw also prohibits residents from building observation towers, installing electric fencing, land mines, hidden traps, weapons triggered to go off when someone steps on the property or “laser eyes,” devices that sound an alarm when an adjacent property is entered.
sarah.deeth@sunmedia.ca
