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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPUB-015-24 Staff Report If this information is required in an alternate accessible format, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator at 905-623-3379 ext. 2131. Report To: General Government Committee Date of Meeting: October 7, 2024 Report Number: PUB-015-24 Authored by: Matt Muirhead, Chief Fire Prevention Officer, Clarington Emergency and Fire Services Submitted By: Lee-Ann Reck, Deputy CAO, Public Services Reviewed By: Mary-Anne Dempster, CAO By-law Number: Resolution Number: File Number: Report Subject: Open Air Burn Bylaw Recommendations: 1. That Report PUB-015-24, and any related delegations or communication items, be received; 2. That By-law 2012-062, to regulate open-air burning, be repealed; 3. The the By-law attached to Report PUB-015-24, as Attachment 1, be approved; and 4. That all interested parties listed in Report PUB-015-24, and any delegations be advised of Council’s decision. Municipality of Clarington Page 2 Report PUB-015-24 Report Overview Following Council’s Resolution #GG-085-24, staff from Clarington Emergency and Fire Services (CEFS) reviewed Clarington’s Existing open air burn bylaw 2012-062, conducted an analysis of best practices and open-air burn by-laws from comparable municipalities. Findings from this review and analysis have been included in this report, along with a recommendation for Council’s consideration to revise the current by-law as follows:  Reduce the minimum size of property to allow open air burning from 10 or more acres to 4 or more acres.  Increase the setback from the fire location to property lines, etc. from 15 meters to 30 meters Various recommendations to repeal and replace By-law 2012-062 have been considered and a preferred option is included for Council’s endorsement. 1. Background 1.1 Council approved the following Resolution #GG-085-24 in May 27, 2024:Whereas other municipalities have developed a mechanism to allow for "recreational campfires in urban areas"; Now therefore be it resolved that Emergency and Fire Services Staff be directed to prepare a report for the Fall of 2024 reviewing Clarington's Open Air Burning By-law; That the report contemplate the inclusion of a framework/regulations to allow residential burning/campfires on properties that meet a defined size and location threshold; and That the review include best practices from other municipalities. 1.2 Clarington’s Open Air Burning By-law 2012-062 was last revised on June 10, 2019. Council adopted the recommendations of Report ESD-004-19 and approved By-law 2019-040, which amended the Open-Air Burning By-law regarding piling material on agricultural land. Municipality of Clarington Page 3 Report PUB-015-24 2. Discussion Clarington’s Current Open Air Burn By-law 2012-062 2.1 Clarington’s By-law 2012-062 contains the following: a) Recreational burning (campfires, chimineas, fire pots, etc.) is not permitted. b) Open air burning (burning of brush and other natural items from a person’s property in the open air, not enclosed in a device) is allowed on the condition that the property is a minimum of 10 acres in size, and the property owner obtains a burn permit form CEFS. c) No permit shall be issued for a property that is located within areas designated as “Urban Area” or “Hamlet Residential” in the Clarington Official Plan. d) Burn Permits are permitted for 30-days or 12-months, at a cost of $40.50 per 30- day permit and $81.00 per 12-month permit. 2.2 Burn permits include safety related limitations including, safe setback distances from property lines and structures/combustible materials, pile size, burn times, weather considerations, and methods of extinguishment. Open Air Burn Bylaw from other Municipalities 2.3 Open Air Burn By-laws from comparable municipalities were reviewed with the following findings related to the burning distance requirements (measured in meters) from property lines, structures and combustible materials for recreational, open air and farm agricultural burn permits: Municipality Recreational Open-Air (* = as per site permit conditions) Farm (* = as per site permit conditions) Ajax 50m 50m 50m Alnwick/Haldimand 15m * * Brighton 4.5m 4.5m 46m Brock 6m 15m 50m Cobourg 10m * * Cramahe 15m 20m 50m Kawartha Lakes 15m 15m 50m Oakville 3m * 45m Oshawa Not Approved 15m 45m Pickering Not Approved * 30m Municipality of Clarington Page 4 Report PUB-015-24 Municipality Recreational Open-Air (* = as per site permit conditions) Farm (* = as per site permit conditions) Port Hope 7.6m 15m 30m Scugog 5m 15m 30m Uxbridge 15m 15m 45m Whitby 9m (Spa only) * * 2.4 Principal findings from this comparative review include: a) Clarington’s closest comparators (Oshawa, Whitby and Pickering) do not allow recreational burning. Ajax allows recreational burning with a requirement for a 50m setback, which would only be possible on a property that is a minimum of 300 feet wide and 400 feet deep (3-acre lot) with no trees or other combustibles withing the setback area. b) The remaining municipal comparators who do allow recreational burning are smaller and have less dense populations than Clarington. 3. Considerations and Scenarios 3.1 Staff completed a review and analysis of three different scenarios. After research and consideration, staffs’ recommendation is to approve the second scenario. 3.2 Scenario One: Do nothing; keep Clarington’s Open-Air By-law unchanged. a. Advantages of Scenario One: Clarington’s existing by-law 2012-062 is restrictive when compared to most municipal comparators. Whitby, Pickering and Ajax each allow open air burning on properties that are less than 10 acres, if they have the required setbacks or property designation. By Clarington deciding to turn down the consideration of a new Open Air burn By-law there will not be an increase in the number of fires and smoke in the community, keeping the risk of property damage, injuries, and the impact on the environment the same. b. Disadvantages of Scenario One: Clarington’s current by-law 2012-062 may be overly restrictive when compared to other municipalities. By doing nothing, people who own less than 10 acres will continue to not be able to conduct open air burning of brush on their property. Recreational burning will continue to not be allowed. Municipality of Clarington Page 5 Report PUB-015-24 3.3 Scenario Two: Revise current open-air burn bylaw 2012-062 to decrease the minimum acreage size required for open air burning from 10 acres to 4 acres, increase the setback distance requirements to lot lines to help mitigate the impact to neighbours from the potential increase in smoke. a. Advantages of Scenario Two: Reducing the minimum lot size from 10 acres to 4 acres to be eligible to conduct open air burning allows more property owners to burn brush from their own property. Increasing the property set back from 15 meters to 30 meters from the fire location to buildings, structures, property lines, fences, trees, overhead wires, etc., may lessen the neighbourhood impact from the increase in fires due to the acreage decrea se. This scenario would see a potential increase in the number of properties eligible to burn by 416 properties. Open air burning will not be permitted in urban and hamlet areas. b. Disadvantages of Scenario Two: Lowering the open-air burning acreage size requirements from 10 acres to 4 acres will likely result in an increase in the number of open-air fires, which would increase smoke & odor in the community, negatively impact the environment, potentially increasing community fire risk, and increasing the impact to community well-being and enjoyment from smoke. It may increase the number of nuisance complaints received by CEFS Fire Prevention staff, increasing workload. 3.4 Scenario Three: Implement changes from Scenario Two, plus allow recreational burning. a. Advantages of Scenario Three: Introducing recreational burning will provide residents with the opportunity to enjoy a recreational fire for personal enjoyment Allowing recreational burning would require a determination of minimum property sizes, burning distance setbacks, and the identification of approved devices to safely contain a small fire. The following items would have to be considered. Municipality of Clarington Page 6 Report PUB-015-24 Recreational Burning Property Size: Setbacks – Introduction of a new recreational burn set back of 23 meters (75 feet) from the fire to property lines, etc. is the minimum distance that may help to minimize any neighbourhood smoke & odor complaints. This setback distance requires that the property lot is at least 46meters (150 feet) wide and approximately 61 meters (20 0 feet) deep. Please see image below to show visually see set back requirements: Requirements of Recreational Devices: To help minimize community risk, residential properties eligible to conduct recreational burning would be required to have a manufactured non-combustible enclosed device, no larger than 1mx1mx1m, designed solely for containing a small recreational fire. Equipped with a removable spark screen where the fuel is loaded, and where a non- removable spark screens on any other openings including chimneys, etc. are required. Examples of recreational fire devices that would be approved for use shown in the pictures below. Municipality of Clarington Page 7 Report PUB-015-24 b. Disadvantages of Scenario Three: There are 1,754 residential properties in Clarington large enough to meet this 46 -meter property width. Having this many additional properties being allowed to burn would increase the number of eligible properties from 1,916 under the existing open air burn by-law to 3,670, for an increase of 91.5%. With an increase of this size, it would likely result in an increase of nuisance complaints from neighbours with the presence of smoke and odor throughout the community raising. In 2023, CEFS received 114 calls for illegal/nuisance burning. It would not be unreasonable to expect this number to increase significantly under option 3, thereby impacting the following groups in CEFS: I. Suppression: Division A fire truck and fire crew will respond to a reported fire at a property and will assess the complaint for illegal/nuisance burning. II. Fire Prevention Division: A Fire Prevention Inspector may conduct an inspection related to illegal/nuisance burning complaints and may lay charges. Municipality of Clarington Page 8 Report PUB-015-24 III. Business Services Division: Business Services staff will identify repeat offenders where emergency vehicles have responded to any second incidents at the same location for an unapproved burning complaint in a 12-month period and will prepare billing invoices. Business Services and Fire Prevention staff are required to process and issue each burning permit application. 4. Recommendation 4.1 CEFS is recommending Scenario #2- Revise current open-air burn by-law 2012-062 to decrease the acreage size of those properties allowed to conduct open air burning from 10 acres to 4 acres and increase setback distances. 4.2 While reviewing existing open-air burn By-law 2012-062, attention was focused on how to increase the number of properties that could safely engage in open air burning, while also being mindful of community safety/enjoyment and environmental impacts. Reducing the lot size from 10 acres to 4 acres, while doubling the property setbacks from 15 to 30 meters strikes a balance between both competing interests. 4.3 Current open-air burn By-law 2012-062 indicates that only properties that are a minimum of 10 acres in size are permitted to conduct open air burning. 4.4 In 2024, of the 1,916 properties who have a property large enough to conduct open air burning, 300 of them applied for permits, or approximately 16 percent. If an average of 16 percent of the 416 addition properties being considered in this scenario apply for a burn permit there will be an increase of approximately 67 permits annually. 4.5 Recommended Open Air Burning Change Summary: 4.6 Allowing open air burning on residential or agricultural properties that have a minimum lot size of 4 acres and zoned rural under the Clarington Official Plan. 4.7 Setbacks must be at least 30 meters from the fire location to buildings, structures, property lines, fences, trees or overhead wires, combustible materials, etc. 5. Financial Considerations It is anticipated that there will be an increase of 67 open air burn permits as outlined in section 4.4. At $81 per permit, this would result in an annual revenue increase of $5,427. Municipality of Clarington Page 9 Report PUB-015-24 6. Strategic Plan Not applicable. 7. Climate Change 7.1 An open-air burn policy can have environmental consequences. While these activities may seem small-scale, they still release pollutants like carbon dioxide, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds into the air, contributing to poor air quality and climate change. The use of chemically treated wood or improper materials in fire pits can further exacerbate pollution and release toxic chemicals, posing health risks to humans and wildlife. Additionally, the cumulative effect of many recreational fires in populated areas can increase health risks, particularly for people with respiratory conditions. 7.2 Considering the environmental impact resulting from the burning of treated wood, or improper materials, the recommendation contained in this report is limited to the burning of brush and other natural items from the property applying for the burn permit. 8. Concurrence Not applicable. 9. Conclusion It is respectfully recommended that Council endorse the recommendation in this report. Staff Contact: Matt Muirhead, Chief Fire Prevention Officer, 905-260-0773, x2801 or mmuirhead@clarington.net. Attachments: Attachment 1 - 2024-xxxx Open Air Burn By-law Interested Parties: The following interested parties will be notified of Council's decision: Brain Sweny, Resident of the Municipality of Clarington Attachment 1 to Report PUB-015-24 If this information is required in an alternate format, please contact the Accessibility Coordinator at 905-623-3379 ext. 2131. The Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington By-law YYYY-NN Being a By-law to regulate open-air burning. Whereas section 7.1 of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 4 authorizes the council of a municipality to pass by-law regulating the setting of open-air fires, including establishing the times during which open air fires may be set; And whereas, part 2 of the Ontario Fire Code, O.Reg. 213/07, subsection 2.4.4.4 (1) provides that open air burning shall not be permitted unless approved, or unless such burning consists of a small, confined fire, supervised at all times, used to cook food on a grill, spit, or barbecue, and commensurate with the type and quantity of food being cooked; And whereas, the municipal Act, 2001, S.O 2001, c 25, Section 11 (2), provides that a council of a lower-tier and upper-tier may pass by-laws with respect to the economic, social and environmental well-being of the municipality, including respecting climate change, and the health, safety and well-being of persons; And whereas, the municipality Act, 2001, S.O 2001 c. 25, Section 391 (1) provides that a municipality may pass by-laws imposing fees or charges on Persons for services or activities provided or done by or on behalf of it, including permit fee; Now therefore, the Council of The Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington enacts as follows: Open Air Burning By-law Page 1 of 10 PART 1 – INTERPRETATION 1. Definitions 1.1. For the purpose of this By-law, (a) “Agricultural Burn” means a burn permit for agricultural properties that fall within the normal farm practices as defined in the Farming and Food Production Protection Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c. 1. (b) “Barbeque” means an appliance that is designed and approved by a recognized testing agency and intended solely for cooking food by a small, confined fire. Barbeques must be used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, but it does not include devices predominantly designed for personal warmth, or recreational fires. (c) “Burn Ban” means no person shall set a fire within the Municipality of Clarington while the burn ban is imposed by the Fire Chief. (d) “Cost recovery” means where section 8 of this By-law is invoked, all costs associated with the work may be added to the tax roll of the property to which the offense occurred and shall be collected in the same manner as municipal taxes pursuant to the municipal Act 2001, c. 25, s. 398 (2). (e) “Fire Chief” means the Fire Chief of the Municipality or a designate. (f) “Flying Lantern” means a small hot air balloon or other device designed to carry an open flame as an airborne light, also known as a Sky Lantern, Chinese Lantern, Kongming Lantern, Wish Lantern, or other similar devices which are devices containing a fuel source, which is usually a petroleum or wax based fuel that when lit causes the lantern to rise. (g) “Municipality” means The Corporation of the Municipality of Clarington or the geographic area of Clarington, as the context requires. (h) “Nuisance” means smoke or flames, odour, airborne sparks or embers that inhibits neighbours’ ability to enjoy their properties or conduct business without disruption. (i) “open-air burn” means the burning of any materials outside of a building, including without limiting the generality of the foregoing, brush or tree limbs, agriculture waste, where the flame is not wholly contained and is, thereby, open to the air. (j) “Outdoor fireplace” means a manufactured non-combustible enclosed device with both, spark screen and non-removable spark screen on vents and chimneys, intended solely for containing a small recreational fire that is no larger than 1m x 1m x1m high. (k) “Recognized testing agency” means Underwriters Laboratories of Canada, Canada Standards Association, Warnock Hersey or similar agencies that test, approve and certify products for use. (l) “Recreational burn” means a fire that is set and maintained solely for the purpose of providing warmth or recreational enjoyment which is contained to an outdoor fireplace. (m) “refuse” means many articles, thing, matter or any effluent belonging to or associated with a house or household, any industry, trade or business and without limiting the foregoing, may include: i. Accumulation of remains, rubbish or trash. ii. Litter, including paper, cartons, newspapers, flyers, cardboard, and/or packing. iii. Machinery and machinery equipment and/or parts, including but not limited to vehicular parts and or accessories, tires, furnace and/or furnace parts, pipes and/or pipe fittings, water tanks, fuel tanks, and/or septic tanks, tubing, conduit, cable. (n) “Small, confined fire” means a barbeque appliance that has been approved by a recognized testing agency for solely cooking food. (o) “Self-contained residential dwelling unit” means a suite operated as a housekeeping unit, used or intended to be used by one or more persons that contains cooking, eating, living, sleeping and sanitary facilities (p) “Spark screen” means a manufactured non-removable metal screen guard, that keeps the sparks and embers contained within the outdoor fireplace. (q) “owner” means the person identified in the most recent tax roll as the owner of a property. (r) “Permit” means a approved document issued to an owner in accordance with this by-law. (s) “Person” includes an individual, association, firm, partnership, corporation, trust, organization, trustee, or agent, and their heirs, executors, or legal representatives. (t) “Urban areas or Hamlet residential properties” are properties as designated in the Clarington Official Plan. 2. References 2.1. In this by-law, reference to any Act is reference to that Act as it is amended or re - enacted from time to time. 2.2. Unless otherwise specified, references in this by-law to sections are references to sections in this by-law. 3. Word Usage 3.1. This by-law shall be read with all changes in gender or number as the context may require. 3.2. A grammatical variation of a word or expression defined has a corresponding meaning. 4. Application 4.1. This by-law applies to all land within the Municipality unless otherwise specified. PART 2- GENERAL CONDITIONS FOR ALL BURN PERMITS 5. General 5.1. No persons shall set an open-air burn or agricultural burn in the Municipality of Clarington without an approved burn permit. Open -air burning is permitted for residential & agricultural properties that have 4 acres or more. 5.2. Recreational burns are not permitted in the Municipality of Clarington and no burn permits shall be issued for them. 5.3. Open Air burns are not permitted in “Urban areas or Hamlet residential properties”. 5.4. Burn permits will be issued to the owner of the property. Occupants of the property can apply for a permit but must obtain written consent from the owner of the property. Multi-residential properties containing 3 or more self -contained residential dwelling units are not permitted to burn unless approved by the Fire Chief or assigned designates. 5.5. The holder of a burn permit shall at all times, have a competent adult (18 years or older), remain at the burn site for the purpose of tending, controlling and supervising the fire. 5.6. Every person responsible for tending, controlling and supervising the burn shall ensure that the fire is completely extinguished before leaving the burn site. 5.7. No burning shall be maintained when weather conditions can cause any or all of the following: a) A decrease in visibility on any highway or roadway; b) A rapid spread of fire through grass or brush area; c) A public nuisance by creating negative health effects or interference on neighbouring residents. 5.8. No person shall burn during a Fire Ban or when a smog alert has been declared by the Ministry of Environment for Ontario 5.9. No person shall burn materials other than, commercially produced charcoal, briquettes, brush or tree limbs or agricultural waste. 5.10. No person shall ignite or release any ignited flying lanterns 5.11. No burn permits are permitted on urban commercial properties, industrial properties, salvage yards or construction sites, unless approved by the Fire Chief or assigned designates. 5.12. The holder of the burn permit shall have an effective extin guishing agent or device of sufficient size and the capability of extinguishing the fire, at the burn site and readily available for use at all times. 5.13. If Clarington Emergency and Fire Services is of the opinion that the continued burning of the recreational burn, open-air burn or agricultural burn is a hazard, Clarington Emergency and Fire Services may direct the fire to be extinguished immediately. 5.14. The Clarington Emergency and Fire Services shall be exempt from the provision of this By-law with respect to open-air burning for educational and training purposes. 5.15. Any person who contravenes any provision of this By-law is guilty of an offense and upon conviction is liable to a fine as set out in section 8. 5.16. The Fire Chief or appointed designate may approve or refuse any permit application and may impose any additional conditions to reduce the risk of fire spreading. 5.17. The Fire Chief or appointed designate may revoke a permit if any or all the following applies: a) The permit was issued in error, b) Any conditions in the By-law are not being compiled with, c) The permit information was false, incorrect or misleading, 5.18. If a burning permit is revoked due to section (a) (b) (c), the application fee shall not be returned. 5.19. No permit is required for burning in a barbeque that has b een approved by a recognized testing agencies for cooking food, if they are used safely and in accordance with the manufacturing instructions. 5.20. No permit is required for commercially designed heating devices that have been approved by recognized testing agencies that are fueled by natural or propane gas and used safely in accordance with the manufacturing instructions. PART 3 - PERMITS 6. Permit Applications 6.1. Any person wishing to set an open-air burn or agricultural burn shall submit a burn permit application for thirty (30) day or twelve (12) months to Clarington Emergency and Fire Services for review and approval. 6.2. Open-air burning conditions – The holder of the open-air burn permit shall, in addition to complying with Part 2 of this By-law, comply with the following: a) Shall burn at ground level b) Burn must be contained within a base/pit with a pile no larger than 1m x 1m x 1m (3.3ft x 3.3ft x 3.3ft). c) All materials to be burned is, brush or tree limbs from the property d) Burn shall be at least 30m (100ft) from property lines, fences, street/road/highway, overhead wires, structures, trees and bush/hedges or other combustible materials. e) Burning shall be conducted between 10am-8pm. f) No person shall burn any refuse, grass clippings or leaves. g) Properties where the burn is occurring must be a minimum of 4 acres in size. 6.3. Agriculture burn permit Conditions – The holder of the agricultural burn permit shall, in addition to complying with Part 2 of this By-law, comply with the following: a) Shall burn at ground level, b) Burn must be contained within a base/pit no larger than 3m x 3m x 3m (9.8ft x 9.8ft x 9.8ft). c) All materials to be burned are agricultural waste from normal farm practice as defined in the Farming and Food Production Protection Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c. 1. d) Burn shall be at least 30 m (100ft) from property lines, fences, street/road/highway, overhead wires, structures, trees and bush/hedges, or other combustible materials. e) Burning shall be conducted between 10am-8pm f) No person shall burn any refuse, grass clippings or leaves. g) Properties where the burn is occurring must be a minimum of 4 acres. PART 4 - ENFORCEMENT 7. Inspections 7.1. In this section, “Officer” means any employee, officer or agent of the Municipality of Clarington whose duties include the enforcement of this by-law. 7.2. An Officer may, at any reasonable time, enter upon any property for the purpose of carrying out an inspection to determine whether or not the provisions of this By-law have been complied with. 7.3. No person shall prevent, hinder or interfere or attempt to prevent, hinder or interfere with an inspection undertaken by an Officer. 8. Offences and Penalties 8.1. Any person who contravenes any provision of this by-law is guilty of an offense and upon conviction is liable to a fine pursuant to the provisions of the Provincial Offenses Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.33. 8.2. Any person who contravenes the provisions of the By-law is guilty of an offense and upon conviction shall be liable to the penalties imposed pursuant to the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c 4, as amended for each offense, exclusive of costs. 8.3. Any person who sets an , open-air burn or agricultural burn in the Municipality of Clarington, assumes full responsibility for fire control and may be liabl e for cost recovery incurred by Clarington Emergency and Fire Services and or mutual aid partnering Fire Departments, including but not limited to; costs of the personnel and equipment as authorized and set out in the Municipality of Clarington fee schedule By-law in effect at the time of the incident and authorized by the Fire Chief or assigned designates. PART 5 - GENERAL 9. Validity 9.1. In the event any court of competent jurisdiction declares any section or provision of this By-law to be invalid, or be of no force and effect for any cause, such section or provision thereof shall be deemed severable from the remainder of the By-law and the remainder of the By-law shall stand to be enforceable to the same extent as if the offending section or provision thereof had not been included herein. 10. Short Title 10.1. The short title of this by-law shall be the “Open Air Burning By-law”. 11. Repeal 11.1. That By-law No. 2012-062 be repealed. 12. Effective Date 12.1. This by-law shall be effective on the date that it is passed. Passed in Open Council this XX day of MMMM, 2024. _____________________________________ Adrian Foster, Mayor _____________________________________ June Gallagher, Municipal Clerk Written approval of this by-law was given by Mayoral Decision MDE-2024-XXX dated XXXX XX, 2024.