Tantramar council okays Estabrooks’ request for a draft ‘tall grass’ bylaw
Tantramar council has approved a motion asking staff to come up with a draft bylaw “to regulate tall grass or vegetative growth within Tantramar.”
Councillor Matt Estabrooks brought the motion forward in response to concerns he has heard from residents about possible fire hazards of long, dried grass near buildings, issues with long grass providing habitat for rodents, and the effect of unkept lawns on neighbouring property values.
In a slide presentation to council on Monday, Estabrooks said the Local Government Act’s dangerous or unsightly provisions do not cover lawns, and cited some other municipalities with lawn bylaws including Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe. Estabrooks said the intention of the new bylaw would be properties inside residential zones, “not farmer’s fields, or woodlands and fields without housing on the outskirts of our communities.”
Estabrooks also said he is “not necessarily convinced that a length measurement of grasses on residential lawns is a necessary component of this bylaw.”
“I feel discretion is critical in this area of the bylaw,” said Estabrooks. “I’m sure staff will determine how to quantify ‘unkept’ when or if they’re in research stage for us.”
Both Moncton and Riverview have bylaws that establish lawn height limits, but Dieppe recently amended its bylaw to remove a 20 cm height restriction, noting that Canadian case law suggests that “aesthetic criteria for lawn maintenance are arbitrary and unconstitutional.”… Continue
Council preview: procedure changes, skipping summer meetings, loitering bylaw on the agenda
Tantramar Council is taking a step closer to following its own procedural bylaw.
Council meets tonight, with a closed session starting at 6:30pm to discuss two matters. After that, the public meeting begins, with an agenda that looks different than past meetings of council.
Tuesday’s meeting agenda includes a section entitled, “Mayor and Councillor Statements and Inquiries”. It’s the first time the section has been included in a meeting since the amalgamation of Tantramar 18 months ago, despite the fact that it is included in the Tantramar procedural bylaw, one of the first four founding bylaws of the newly amalgamated municipality.
On May 14, Councillor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell asked to make an observation before the regular meeting of council adjourned, but was told she could not by CAO Jennifer Borne, Clerk Donna Beal, and Mayor Andrew Black, who told her she could not speak because her item was not on the meeting’s approved agenda.
Local reporter Bruce Wark later pointed out in a story on warktimes.com, that a section for council statements is actually included in the town’s own bylaw, despite it never being included on a meeting agenda.
Now that the section for Mayor and Councillor Statements and Inquiries is listed, it’s still not clear how the Mayor and senior staff will treat the section during the meeting, whether councillors would be required to request to speak in advance, or if they will simply be given an opportunity for statements and enquiries, as is the practice in the city of Moncton.… Continue
Tantramar switches gears in provincial environmental project funding
After three years of using the province’s Environmental Trust Fund to pay for a part-time climate change coordinator to work with town staff, the municipality is moving in a new direction this year, and has obtained a grant of just over $24,000 to produce a wetlands-themed play for youth and tour the production to local schools.
The province’s Environmental Trust Fund supports 190 environmental initiatives throughout the province, including about ten in the Tantramar region which take on things like watershed monitoring, energy efficiency, and wetlands education.
Since 2021, the town has received roughly $35,000 per year from the fund to help pay for a part-time climate change coordinator. The position was created in partnership with EOS Eco Energy, and so was never part of Tantramar’s unionized staff, but worked closely with the town’s Community and Corporate Services department.
Over the years, three different climate change coordinators have helped with research and recommendations for initiatives like electrifying the town’s vehicle fleet, coordinating the installation of solar panels on the Bill Johnstone Park building, and creating a ‘climate lens’ system in staff reporting to council.
At the end of Monday’s committee of the whole meeting, CHMA asked about the decision not to seek further funding for a part time climate change coordinator.… Continue