Regina councillors hope to clean up city streets with increasing fines, enforcement

Two Regina councillorswantto literally clean up the streets of the city.

Councillors Andrew Stevens and Dan LeBlanc are proposing the city administration prepare a report that looks at a strategy of increasing fines and prosecution efforts for landlords and offenders for illegal dumping or repeat violations.

As well, the report would consider the costs of empowering waste-pickup crews with bylaw enforcement authority, andmore frequent recycling and garbage pickup in areas with higher-than-average street and alley waste. It's also consideringputting community garbage, composting and recycling bins in problem areas, and installing additional needle drop-off bins.

The councillors are submitting a notice of motion of their request to Regina's city council on April 14. The motion will then be debated at the following council meeting.

It's a close issue for Leticia Racine, a board member of White Pony Lodge. The group patrols the North Central neighbourhood to create a safe and connected community.

"We definitely witness the loads of garbage being dumped there from outside of the community, even the piles of furniture left in alleyways," Racine said. "As much as we'd like to pick up all the garbage, we just don't have the manpower.

"With that being said, the bylaws that are being proposed by these two councillors are,like, such welcome support with financial backing."

The volunteer-run organization has to focus on safety and picking up needles, but they could bring on more people and develop a cleanup initiative with the funds proposed by the councillors, she said.

Racine said some of the trash is because landlords profit from the property but don't maintain it. The bylaw fines could hold them accountable, she said. Another issue is people coming to dump things in the neighbourhood, she said.

"It's horrible. It's such a despicable thing to do that. Like it's just North Central is the frickin' dumping ground of Regina," Racine said. "And I challenge those people actually, right now, to do better."

Having a clean neighbourhood would elevate the environment and inspire more people to help clean up in the future, Racine said.

Stevens said these issues can take a long time to be resolved. He said typically people need to complain to the city and go through the bylaw enforcement and Regina Appeals Board for the city to be granted authority to clean up private property.

"Essentially what we're asking and saying here, that everybody deserves the dignity of not living in or near piles of garbage," Stevens said. "The community needs to take ownership of this. But at the same time, we need policies in place that deal with some of the offences and problems."

It would give the bylaw enforcement actual tools so that landlords know that there's consequences.- Orion Paradis

Orion Paradis knows the struggle of going through the city well. He lives in the Heritage neighbourhood and beside what he describes as slum housing for 20 years. Paradis said the landlord makes money from the land and doesn't do any upkeep.

Paradis said the trash has been building up since November behind the homes, with bins overflowing, ripped open and trash laying on the ground. He said he filed complaints to the city, however it doesn't have many tools in the situation. That's where the new bylaws would fit in.

"It would give the bylaw enforcement actual tools so that landlords know that there's consequences," Paradis said. "The problem, in my opinion, is lack of accountability."

Andrea McNeil-Wilson is the manager of bylaw enforcement with the City of Regina. She oversees issues of property standards under the current community standards bylaw. She said often the city wants to help when people complain but there's not much they can do.

"Especially for my officers who are dealing with repeat offenders, that we go through the same problem and we're not going to get the outcome that we're hoping for in terms of behaviour change."

McNeil-Wilson said she hopes this motion will enable her officers to more effectively address concerns, especially about repeat offenders that take up a great deal of their time.

"I'm hoping that from an enforcement perspective we have some tools that allow us to change the behaviours and just change some of the activities that are occurring with some repeat offenders where our current bylaw language may be isn't as effective as it should be."

Stevens said there isn't one silver bullet for this issue but that the motion is a start.

"At the very least, I think it's important to recognize that the city can do something. There perhaps are some financial supports that we can offer communities and community associations to help deal with this more effectively."