The MD of Bonnyville is hoping updates to their parks bylaw will better regulate the cleanup of campsites.
Submitted photo
A few changes have been made to the rules governing camping in the MD.
According to Director of Public Safety Chris Garner, the new parks bylaw, which is the first update the MD has made since 1985, defines a number of powers for the MD that he said were quite vague.
“Although some things have stayed the same, we have made some changes as far as trying to bring it in line with existing practices of park caretakers,” explained Garner. “We also wanted to make sure that when there are issues in a stall that we have a person that is always responsible for that particular campsite.”
MD council brought the new bylaw into effect at their June 8 meeting.
Among the changes made to the bylaw are defined responsibilities for a person who rents a campsite. In addition, a person will now need to be 18 or over to rent out a camping stall.
“If they leave it a mess, that’s the person that we’re going to go to for ensuring that they clean it up or we collect the funds for a clean up,” said Garner. “Or if someone comes in and rents a stall, and their friends are in there and causing a problem, even if that person is not there we still need to deal directly with the person that rented that stall.”
The updated bylaw also includes a list of fines. Garner explained that the old bylaw only had a generic fine that was applied to all camping violations, whereas this new bylaw sets out specific misdemeanors and fines to go along with them.
“There’s a responsibility to take care of the unit you’re renting,” commented Coun. David Fox. “It’s no different from going to stay at a hotel or anything, really.”
The new rules will be enforced in part by the fact the bylaw will now require park caretakers to collect personal information from campers, such as name, address, and phone number, to allow for contact after the fact. Garner pointed out the bylaw also has provisions requiring caretakers to store that information in a secure place.
The bylaw also keeps enforcement in check. For example, a camper can only be held responsible for leaving their campsite in a mess for eight hours after vacating the site.
During that discussion, council also passed a bylaw adjusting the impound fee for dogs the MD picks up. It was a response to the SPCA increasing its impound fee from $70 to $100.
“What happens is the SPCA charges the MD of Bonnyville the amount when we impound a dog and then we turn around and charge the same amount to the owner,” explained Garner. “So it’s kind of a zero balance.”
According to Director of Public Safety Chris Garner, the new parks bylaw, which is the first update the MD has made since 1985, defines a number of powers for the MD that he said were quite vague.
“Although some things have stayed the same, we have made some changes as far as trying to bring it in line with existing practices of park caretakers,” explained Garner. “We also wanted to make sure that when there are issues in a stall that we have a person that is always responsible for that particular campsite.”
MD council brought the new bylaw into effect at their June 8 meeting.
Among the changes made to the bylaw are defined responsibilities for a person who rents a campsite. In addition, a person will now need to be 18 or over to rent out a camping stall.
“If they leave it a mess, that’s the person that we’re going to go to for ensuring that they clean it up or we collect the funds for a clean up,” said Garner. “Or if someone comes in and rents a stall, and their friends are in there and causing a problem, even if that person is not there we still need to deal directly with the person that rented that stall.”
The updated bylaw also includes a list of fines. Garner explained that the old bylaw only had a generic fine that was applied to all camping violations, whereas this new bylaw sets out specific misdemeanors and fines to go along with them.
“There’s a responsibility to take care of the unit you’re renting,” commented Coun. David Fox. “It’s no different from going to stay at a hotel or anything, really.”
The new rules will be enforced in part by the fact the bylaw will now require park caretakers to collect personal information from campers, such as name, address, and phone number, to allow for contact after the fact. Garner pointed out the bylaw also has provisions requiring caretakers to store that information in a secure place.
The bylaw also keeps enforcement in check. For example, a camper can only be held responsible for leaving their campsite in a mess for eight hours after vacating the site.
Council updates dog control bylaw
During that discussion, council also passed a bylaw adjusting the impound fee for dogs the MD picks up. It was a response to the SPCA increasing its impound fee from $70 to $100.
“What happens is the SPCA charges the MD of Bonnyville the amount when we impound a dog and then we turn around and charge the same amount to the owner,” explained Garner. “So it’s kind of a zero balance.”
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