GUELPH/ERAMOSA - The township saw a significant increase in complaints in 2021 with a 99 per cent increase from 2020's bylaw activity.
At Monday's council meeting, Ivan Lunevski, bylaw enforcement and property standards officer, presented the bylaw activity report to council with a summary report from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2021. He reported that over the course of three years, bylaw activity in 2021 was the most significant.
“The increase in bylaw complaints since the year 2018 has been astronomical as you can see in the numbers in the report,” said Lunevski during his presentation.
In 2021, the bylaw enforcement department has received 607 inquiries in regards to the townships bylaws and 352 complaints were investigated as alleged violations. From the 352 complaints, 253 have been closed and 72 currently remain under investigation.
"The increase in complaints has been significant, compared to the ones received in 2018 and 2019. In comparison to 2018, this year, staff noted a 525 per cent increase in complaints, an increase of 296 per cent when compared to 2019 and an increase of 99 per cent when compared to 2020," Lunevski reported.
Areas with a higher number of complaints included parking, which had 49 complaints; property standards, which had 48; and zoning, which also had 48 complaints.
The majority of the complaints received required a full investigation into the alleged violation. The township has managed to obtain compliance on the majority of the complaints received and is working towards obtaining full compliance on the remaining properties, the report states.
